Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Moved Into Their Mother’s PlaceThree months later, Vanessa was living in the mansion.
She didn't officially call herself their stepmother.
She didn't have to.
Her presence filled every room.
Evelyn's paintings disappeared first.
Then her clothes.
Then the photographs.
One evening, Noah came downstairs and discovered the large family portrait above the fireplace had been replaced.
His mother was gone.
In her place stood Vanessa.
Noah stared at the empty space where Evelyn's face had been.
“Where is Mom?”
Vanessa calmly adjusted the frame.
“Your father thought the old photograph was painful.”
“She belongs there.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“So does your father.”
Noah clenched his fists.
Across the room, Lily was staring at the wall.
“Mom is still here,” she whispered.
Vanessa's expression changed.
Only for a second.
Then she smiled.
“Grief makes children imagine things.”
That night, Lily woke Noah.
She was standing beside his bed, trembling.
“Someone is knocking.”
Noah listened.
Three slow knocks came from inside the wall.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
He opened his bedroom door.
The hallway was empty.
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But the knocking continued.
From behind the wallpaper.
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