Chapter 3 — The Trembling Finger Pointing
Chloe kept her eyes locked on the edge of the large vanity mirror.
“I only sat down at the desk to study my homework,” Chloe said, her voice dropping to a shaky whisper as she defended herself.
“I didn’t even look at the jewelry box.”
Beatrice scoffed softly, shaking her head.
“People usually don’t stare at empty boxes when they are studying, Chloe.”
“I wasn’t staring at it,” Chloe insisted, her tone growing frantic.
“I just came in to open my backpack.”
She paused mid-sentence.
Her eyes widened slightly as she stared past the polished glass surface of the looking glass.
A strange glint caught the corner of her eye.
It was a faint, pearlescent shimmer reflecting against the dark, varnished wood of the frame.
Chloe stopped crying for a fraction of a second.
She lifted a hand and pointed a trembling finger directly toward the corner of the wooden mirror.
“Look right there,” Chloe breathed, her voice cracking.
“What is that?”
Robert and Beatrice both turned their heads instantly toward the spot the girl was indicating.
Robert took a cautious step forward, squinting his eyes toward the heavy carved wooden frame of the mirror, unsure of what he was looking at.