Chapter 74

I was asleep when my eyes snapped open as a loud thud echoed through the silence of my dimly lit room.

I shot up in bed, immediately on high alert.

The noise had come from the basement, the very place I had repeatedly warned Sophia to stay away from.

Maybe she had come back to me.

My instincts kicked in at once, a primal immediacy urging me to check it out.

To investigate.

Rising from my bed, my bare feet met the cool floor as I scanned the room.

It was dark again and cold.

I tiptoed to the basement, making sure I was as silent as I could be.

Next to nothing.

A quick push of the door and I was in.

Everything seemed in order, except for a missing cushion and a chair slightly out of place.

I frowned, my keen vision was taking in the scene. I knew myself well enough and I was meticulous about my space.

I knew what was kept and where it was.

Any deviation from what I deemed as standard struck me as odd.

Quietly, I approached the basement door again. My senses heightened.

I could