Chapter 4: The Realization

Wait.

The conversation in the group—why does it feel so off?

Suddenly, I realized I’d missed something and quickly scrolled up through the chat history.

At first, after my wife heard the kitten meowing, I told her not to go out, because I suspected the meowing was a recording from goat-head, meant to trick my wife into opening the door so he could kill her.

Then my wife found out the meowing wasn’t a recording, but a real lost orange kitten outside, and it was picked up by its owner.

So my wife thought the meowing was just a coincidence, that goat-head was just bluffing, and it happened to coincide with the lost kitten—not an actual murder plot.

But!

Earlier, goat-head had said:

[That kitten’s been sitting at the door meowing forever, and she still hasn’t come out. Is your trick even useful?]

He said “sitting outside”—a verb you’d only use for a living thing.

If he had used a phone recording, he wouldn’t have said “sitting.”

In other words, goat-head knew from the start there was a real kitten outside my door! He didn’t need a recording at all.

Later, he asked Cassie Young: “That’s your cat?”

He must have gone upstairs and seen the cat meowing at my wife’s door, then took advantage of the coincidence, using the lost kitten to lure my wife out!

This wasn’t a prank! This was a premeditated plan to kill my wife and daughter!

I immediately called my wife.

But the call rang once and was hung up.

I quickly texted: “What’s wrong?”

On my wife’s end, I saw the typing indicator…

But after a long time, nothing.

I panicked: “You didn’t go out, did you?”

This time, my wife replied quickly: “No, but I don’t dare answer the phone—someone’s outside! If I make a sound, he’ll hear it!”

She immediately sent a video.

It was shot facing the front door.

No lights were on inside, only the dim glow from the bathroom.

There was a Peppa Pig sticker on the door handle, and right now, the handle was gently shaking.

“Click click.”

“Click click.”

“Click click.”

Someone outside was slowly trying to turn the handle.

Then came the sound of the electronic lock activating:

“Ding, unauthorized user, incorrect password…”

“Ding, unauthorized user, incorrect password…”

“Ding, unauthorized user, incorrect password…”