PART 1 — The Thing Inside The Cast
“Cut it off my arm!”
Noah’s scream ripped through the hospital room.
His small body shook so violently that the bed rails rattled. Tears streamed down his face as he stared at the white cast covering his left arm.
“Please, Dad… just cut it off!”
Daniel Vale froze.
He had seen his son cry before.
After scraped knees.
After nightmares.
After losing his mother.
But this was different.
This was fear.
Real fear.
“Noah,” Daniel said softly, kneeling beside the bed. “It’s just a cast. You’re safe.”
“No!”
The boy grabbed his father’s sleeve.
“Something is inside it.”
The room went silent.
The nurses exchanged uncertain looks.
Standing beside the IV pole was Marissa Vale, Daniel’s wife.
She wore a white cashmere coat, perfect makeup, and a worried expression that looked almost believable.
Almost.
One year ago, she had entered Daniel’s life after his first wife passed away.
She became the woman who smiled at charity events.
The woman who held Noah’s hand in public.
The woman everyone praised.
But Noah knew the truth.
Because when nobody was watching, her voice changed.
Three days earlier, Noah had fallen down the basement stairs.
At least, that was the story.
Marissa cried when she called the ambulance.
She told the doctors Noah was always dramatic.
Always sensitive.
Always looking for attention.
And everyone believed her.
Even Daniel.
Because Daniel was a powerful businessman who could control an entire company…
but grief had made him blind inside his own home.
“Something moves,” Noah whispered.
“It scratches me.”
Daniel looked at the cast.
Then at Marissa.
“Is this possible?”
Marissa stepped forward immediately.
“Daniel, he’s scared. The medication is affecting him.”
Noah looked at her.
His face changed.
Like he was looking at a monster.
“She put something in there.”
The words hung in the air.
May you like
Marissa’s expression remained calm.
But only for a second.
