Chapter 4

In the photo, Daisy’s clear, knowing eyes stared back at me through the glass frame.

The air in the room froze.

The only sound left in the world was the violent thudding of my heart and the rush of blood in my ears.

Same preschool... same class...

The news of Mason's kidnapping on top of the preschool connection completely shattered whatever composure we had left.

"What else... did Detective Carter say?"

My voice was so hoarse I barely recognized it.

Ethan shook his head blankly, his eyes hollow.

"The tech team is tracking the mascot suit. They're trying to keep a lid on the news. But we won't be able to hide this for long..."

"The list! The guest list from yesterday! Who else is on it?!"

My hands shook as I grabbed the paper.

Before, we were only worried about who *might* have received a music box. Now, we were figuring out who *might* be the next victim!

Besides Leo, who was already dead.

The kids who received the music boxes were Chloe, Mason, Harper, and my Lily.

There were three other girls on the list—Mia, Zoe, and Maya.

And every single one of them was in that graduation photo. They were all Daisy’s former classmates.

Eight children.

Eight bronze figures on the music box.

Just then, the detective on the phone gave us another piece of news.

The music box playing on its own was likely triggered by remote control.

And the bronze figures didn't break because someone snapped them. The mechanism used a chemical acid to corrode the weakest part of the metal joints, making it look like they snapped naturally.

"This is an extremely precise, long-planned psychological terror tactic."

I quickly dialed Mia’s house. No answer.

We split up to call Zoe and Maya’s parents.

Fortunately, those two families picked up immediately.

But Mia’s family? Still nothing.

I gripped my phone tightly. The screen flashed with a text from the detective.

They needed any leads we had—anything about Daisy’s family, any details about the "accident" three years ago. Any tiny clue.

Three years ago...

A sharp pain shot through my head.

It was a sunny day in the canyon.

The sound of children laughing, a steep cliff, terrified screams, parents crying, police questioning.

And...

The scared, shifty eyes of the children after they all agreed on the exact same story.

Back then, all of us parents chose to believe the kids when they said she "just tripped and fell."

We silently agreed never to bring it up again, letting time wash it away.

We were even relieved that it wasn't our own child who fell.

*Bzzzt.* My phone vibrated.

It was the temporary Snapchat group chat we had set up for the birthday party.

Right now, it was blowing up.

[Chloe’s Mom: The police took the music box! They said it was chemical corrosion! This is insane! Who is doing this?!]

[Mason’s Mom: We still haven't found Mason! The cameras couldn't get a face because of that huge mascot suit! Please, does anyone know anything?!]

[Harper’s Mom: We didn't even open the box! Handed it straight to the cops. Thank god! Harper is terrified.]

[Zoe’s Dad: We're almost at Lily's house! We need to stick together.]

[Maya’s Mom: (Sent a voice note of muffled crying and whispers of "What do we do...")]

The chaos, fear, and despair in the messages practically swallowed the group chat.

Suddenly, a new message popped up from an account that had just been added. The profile picture was pure black.

[Unknown User: Is hide-and-seek fun?]

[Unknown User: No one gets left behind. 😊]

[Unknown User: (Image attached)]

I clicked the photo. It was a cropped, zoomed-in shot of our preschool graduation picture.

It was edited to show only the eight children.

Lily, Leo, Chloe, Mason, Harper, Mia, Zoe, and Maya.

Each of their faces had a bright red number written over it.

And at the edge of the photo, where Daisy was standing, a massive, bloody red 'X' was drawn over her face.

The group chat went dead silent.

The next second, Zoe’s dad called. His voice was trembling with absolute terror:

"We're downstairs at your building. But Mia's family car is parked right here... and there's someone inside..."

"The windows... they're covered in... red..."