"I've been waiting for you. Three whole months."
"You're finally here. Ha Haha! "
The sound of his laughter crawled under my skin. I looked past him, into the room.
What I saw stopped me cold.
Every wall was covered—floor to ceiling—with photographs of my daughter.
Julia as a little girl, pigtails bouncing, laughing in the park.
Julia in her school uniform, backpack slung over one shoulder, heading to class.
Julia in college, head bowed over a book in the library.
Julia in her wedding dress, arm linked through Silas's.
Julia eight months pregnant, watering flowers on the balcony, one hand resting on her belly.
Every photograph was crisp and clear. Childhood to adulthood. Girl to wife. Her entire life, mapped across those walls.
I stood frozen, unable to move.
Silas looked just as stunned.
Then something snapped behind his eyes. He lunged forward, seized the Limping Man by the collar, and snarled through clenched teeth:
"You animal. You've been watching Julia since she was a child?"
The Limping Man didn't fight back. If anything, his laughter grew louder.
"That's right."
"I killed her."
The words barely left his mouth before Silas's fist cracked across his face.
"I'll kill you!"