“I think we overreacted,” she said quietly.
Daniel leaned against the doorway. “Maybe.”
“He’s just a baby.”
Daniel nodded. “Yeah.”
But he didn’t move closer.
And he didn’t take his eyes off the child.
—
That night, the house felt different.
Not louder.
Not darker.
Just… different.
Amira woke first.
She didn’t know why.
There was no noise.
No cry.
Nothing obvious.
But something pulled her from sleep.
She sat up slowly, her heart already beginning to race.
“Daniel,” she whispered.
He stirred beside her. “What is it?”
“Do you hear that?”
He listened.
Silence.
“I don’t hear anything,” he said.
Amira swallowed. “Exactly.”
That’s what was wrong.
The baby should have been crying.
Or moving.
Or making some kind of sound.
But there was nothing.
She got out of bed.
“Amira—” Daniel started.
“I’m just going to check.”
She walked down the hallway, each step heavier than the last.
The nursery door was slightly open.
She didn’t remember leaving it that way.
Her hand trembled as she pushed it open.
