My heart soared with relief, but I kept my breathing steady. Caleb was awake—he had heard everything, just like I had. And now, we needed to pretend a little longer if we were going to survive this nightmare.
Time dragged by, each second feeling like an hour. I strained to hear any sign of Ethan returning, but the house was silent except for the faint ticking of the wall clock.
Finally, I felt it was safe enough to risk a whisper. “Caleb, can you hear me?”
