Lydia\u2019s gut told her something was wrong, but her husband insisted she was overreacting. Then the phone rang. Her daughter\u2019s whisper sent a chill down her spine\u2014\u201cMom, I just saw a camera in the room.\u201d In that moment, Lydia knew\u2014her instincts had been right all along.<\/p>\n
The clock on the kitchen wall seemed to tick louder than usual, each second stretching longer than it should.<\/p>\n
Lydia sat stiffly at the table, arms folded tightly across her chest, her foot tapping an anxious rhythm against the cool, tiled floor.<\/p>\n
The glow of the oven cast flickering shadows along the walls, the scent of roasted chicken filling the air, but she had no appetite.<\/p>\n
Across the kitchen, Mark stood at the counter, humming a tune under his breath as he chopped vegetables.<\/p>\n
Lydia exhaled sharply. \u201cI can\u2019t do this,\u201d she muttered, her voice thick with tension.<\/p>\n
She pushed back from the table, standing so quickly that the chair scraped against the tile.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to pick her up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark didn\u2019t even pause his slicing. \u201cLyd, come on.\u201d His tone was light, as if she were being ridiculous. \u201cIt\u2019s just a sleepover.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned to face him fully, her eyes dark with worry. \u201cHer first sleepover. At Kara\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lydia\u2019s gut told her something was wrong, but her husband insisted she was overreacting. Then the phone rang. Her daughter\u2019s whisper sent a chill down her spine\u2014\u201cMom,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n