“Claire!” Rose shouted.

A loud crash echoed from the dining room, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

“She’s running!” Megan cried out.

I fumbled in my pocket for my phone and switched on the flashlight.

The bright beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the empty staircase.

Claire was gone.

“Which way did she go?” Daniel asked, his flashlight beam sweeping the hallway.

“The back door,” I said, hearing the faint sound of a door slamming in the kitchen.

“She’s trying to get to the carriage house,” Rose said.

“Or she’s trying to destroy the papers,” Daniel said.

We rushed down the long hallway toward the kitchen, our flashlights bouncing off the walls.

Ethan tried to follow us, but Daniel stopped him.

“You stay here,” Daniel ordered.

Ethan sank into a chair, his face buried in his hands.

We reached the kitchen, the back door swinging open in the wind, rain pouring onto the linoleum.

I looked out into the dark backyard, where the old carriage house stood.

A light was shining in the upper window of the carriage house.

“She’s up there,” I said.