3: 3
3.
“Vivienne, are you asleep? It's me.”
It was Agnes's voice.
I opened the door carefully.
“I kept hearing water running. Is Mia not feeling well? Do you need a hand?”
Sharon stood behind her.
Both of them were fully dressed, without a trace of having just been in bed.
“No need. I was just washing her clothes. I'll be asleep soon.”
The moment I shut the door, the strange voice came again.
【That wicked old woman is clever. She's waiting to see when the little one falls ill. That's when her borrowing lifespan takes hold.】
All night I didn't dare blink, my eyes fixed on my daughter.
I gripped my phone, ready to leave for the hospital at any second.
At the first gray light of dawn, the phone rang.
I glanced at it. Rebecca.
“Vivienne, does what you told me last night have something to do with Chloe?”
I answered with a short “Yes.”
Rebecca said quickly “I understand. I'll bring her over in a little while.”
My daughter was still fast asleep, a sweet smile on her face.
“Vivienne, come eat.”
It was Agnes, calling me over and over.
I got up and opened the door. She poked her head in to look inside.
“Is Mia still sleeping? Go eat. I'll stay with her.”
Before all this, I would have thought she was being kind to me.
I would have handed my daughter over to her without a second thought and gone to eat.
【Don't go. The wicked old woman found nothing showing in your daughter's body, so she's come to check.】
【Whatever you do, don't let her get near your daughter alone again.】
【Give her one chance, and your daughter is doomed.】
Agnes pushed to get into the room, and I put my arm out to block her.
Just then the doorbell rang, and Sharon answered it.
Rebecca came in, holding Chloe's hand. The moment I saw Chloe there beside her,
I clearly caught it. A flicker of disgust crossed Agnes's eyes.
And beneath that disgust, something else seemed hidden. A trace of fear.
“Vivienne, I'll watch Mia. Go eat.”
Agnes stepped aside on her own and retreated to the dining table.
I choked down a couple of bites and hurried back to the room.
My daughter was awake, and Rebecca was making her laugh.
Chloe leaned against the wall, quiet and good, listlessly playing a game.
I turned my daughter's favorite nursery rhymes up as loud as they would go.
Then I pulled Rebecca aside to watch last night's footage.
“Rebecca, do you remember Agnes playing this kind of clapping game with Chloe?”
She took one look, and her face changed.
“That's it. Agnes only ever played it with Chloe. One time Chloe ignored her, and she got upset. I offered to play with her instead, and she just turned and walked off.”
【The wicked old woman is no fool. If anyone else takes part in the borrowing lifespan, it turns back on her.】
“Vivienne, is there something wrong with this game?”
I pointed to the red garment Agnes was wearing.
“Back then, was she wearing the red garment you bought her yourself? With this same pattern printed on it?”
I pointed to my chat history with Sharon to confirm it with her.
“Yes. She was helping me watch the baby, and I wanted to thank her. Sharon told me to buy her clothes. It was this exact pattern.”
A cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
“And this ring, do you remember it?”
She glanced at the square-signet gold ring.
Rebecca said “Isn't that Agnes's? Though she doesn't seem to wear it very often.”
Every detail lined up. So the strange voice had been telling the truth all along.
I couldn't stop myself from stepping back twice, and nearly fell.
Chloe, playing with her toy, steadied me “Careful, Auntie. Falling down hurts a lot.”
Looking at that little girl, all skin and bones, the tears I'd forced down last night finally fell.
“Rebecca, whatever I say next, please, you have to believe me.”
“I'm going to help you and Chloe.”
