My heart sank. I didn’t understand what was happening, but Chloe’s terrified gaze and the presence of those red heels told me it was no coincidence. Suddenly, a voice sounded, sweet but chilling. “Chloe, sweetheart, are you in here?”

It was Lucy’s voice. I had heard it hundreds of times, calling Chloe to dinner, laughing with customers at the bakery, talking tenderly to Charles. Chloe flinched in my arms, hugging me tighter as if she wanted to disappear inside me. I stroked her hair, trying to calm her, but I was trembling, too.