10/07/2025
My kids, Ethan (15) and Lily (7), and I live in one of those neighborhoods with a community pool.
Besides school, Ethan works part-time at the local grocery store bagging groceries. So on Saturday, I took the kids to the pool to relax. It was hot, kids were running around, lifeguards were whistling at teens trying flips off the diving board.
I was sitting on a lounge chair scrolling Facebook when I heard Ethan yell, "Mom! She's drowning!"
Before I could react, he had jumped in.
A little girl, maybe four years old, had wandered from the shallow end and slipped under. Her arms flailed once, then nothing. Ethan grabbed her, pulled her up, and carried her to the side where the lifeguard rushed over.
A woman ran to us sobbing, thanking Ethan over and over. The little girl coughed, then cried loudly. At that moment, it was the best sound in the world.
I couldn't stop shaking. If Ethan hadn't noticed…
I figured that was the end of it.
But the next evening, there was an ENVELOPE on our front porch with just my name on it.
Inside, a single sheet of paper:
"Come with your son to the only mansion on the outskirts of town. Today at 5 p.m. – J.W."
I was worried.. The only mansion? Everyone in town whispered about it—the big stone house at the end of County Road 14. Rumor was, an old widower lived there, bitter and reclusive after his wife died. Some said his kids abandoned him. Others swore he didn't even exist anymore.
It was 6 p.m., already an hour past. I showed Ethan. He shrugged. "That's weird…"
We didn't go that night. But curiosity gnawed at me.
The next day, another note appeared, slipped under our doormat.
"DON'T IGNORE THIS. Bring Ethan. 5 p.m. SHARP."
This time, I couldn't shake the feeling.
So, at 4:45, we drove down County Road 14.
The gates creaked open on their own.
Then the front door opened slowly, and a man stepped out. Tall, gray-haired, in a pressed suit despite the summer heat.
"You must be Ethan," he said, voice gravelly. "I've prepared something for you. Come in." ⬇ (Continue reading in the first C0MMENT 👇)