Filed to story: A Little Princess's Journey from Darkness to Light Novel
Josh looked at the gap and felt that there was something hidden inside.
If the nightmare was real, that person hadn’t left at all. They had been hiding in his closet the whole time, right?
Josh held his breath. The room was so quiet that he thought he could hear someone breathing.
“Who… Who is there?” Josh shouted.
He didn’t care if there was someone in his room or not. He dashed towards the door like an arrow. However, he panicked when he couldn’t get it to open because he had locked it earlier. He felt someone behind him…
“Click.” Finally, the door opened.
Josh wailed as he ran out. He didn’t dare to look back at all.
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Josh banged on Anthony’s door.
It was around 2 or 3 AM when Anthony had just finished his work and laid down. He had a severe headache.
Suddenly, he heard banging on his door. He opened it and a small figure jumped into his arms.
The force was so strong that he took two steps back. Then he saw that it was Josh in his arms.
Josh’s face was stained with tears.
“Huh?”
Drake and Josh had been sleeping by themselves since the age of four.
For the past three years, they hadn’t relied on Anthony. This was the first time.
“What’s wrong?” Anthony bent down and picked up Josh, patting his back.
Josh couldn’t even remember how long it had been since his father had hugged him like this.
All he could remember was that after his aunt disappeared, the atmosphere at home became depressing. His father was so busy that he couldn’t spend time with him. Granny soon ended up in a nursing home and his other uncles were all heartbroken, running around looking for his aunt.
The only people in the house were Margaret, the maids, Jack, and Old Mr. Crawford. Most of the time, Old Mr. Crawford seemed cold and solemn, and it was scary to see him from afar.
Jack and Margaret weren’t his relatives. Although Aunt Winona stayed at home every day, her attention was only focused on Hannah.
Josh sometimes felt envious of Hannah, even though she was an annoying spoiled brat.
At least she had someone to go to.
“Daddy…” Josh cried louder as he thought about all the chaos in his family. Tears and sniffles flowed out together.
Josh leaned on Anthony’s shoulder and wiped his tears and sniffles. He felt embarrassed from all the crying and forced himself to calm down.
Anthony closed the door and carried Josh to the sofa. He poured Josh a glass of water and gave him a clean towel.
“Have you calmed down?” he asked.
“Yes,” Josh mumbled, nodding.
“Tell me, what’s going on?” Anthony asked as he sat opposite Josh.
Josh didn’t know how to start. Should he begin with the nightmare or the strange occurrences in his room?
Either way, it sounded ridiculous just thinking about it. How could he say it out loud?
“My… My room has spirits…” Josh started.
Just when Josh thought his father would dismiss his claims, he saw his dad stand up and say, “Let’s go.”
Josh quickly stood up and asked, “Where?”
“To your room.”
Moments later, father and son returned to
Josh’s room. Josh held onto Anthony’s clothes tightly.
Anthony turned on all the lights in the room and scanned the area.
His eyes were drawn to the closet door that Josh had mentioned.
It was wide open, revealing the neatly hung clothes inside.
Josh’s eyes widened immediately. He stammered, “When… When I left earlier, the gap was very narrow.” He remembered correctly this time!
There was a sound outside the door, as if someone was walking.
Anthony opened the door.
A woman stood outside the door, accompanied by Blake.
Blake held a sharp knife against the woman’s neck.
To his surprise, it was Ashley.
“Don’t move,” Blake said with a hint of menace.
Ashley’s eyes widened as she repeated, “Don’t chop off my head… Don’t chop off my head…”
Blake remembered how terrified she was when the kitchen knife flew towards her earlier in the afternoon. She had chanted the same words then.
Most people would say “Don’t kill me” or “Help” when faced with a knife against their neck.
This woman is strange.
“Who are you?” Blake asked.
Ashley looked pale as she replied, “I’m Ashley.”
Blake and Anthony exchanged glances.
“What are you doing here?” Anthony asked.
Ashley stammered, “I… I couldn’t sleep and happened to hear the commotion…”
Her eyes landed on Josh. “Is he alright? I recognized his voice.”
“There’s nothing wrong. Go back,” Anthony ordered.
Upon hearing this, Blake withdrew the knife.
Ashley breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Blake before saying, “Yes, I’ll go back now.”
With that, she hurriedly left.
Josh asked, “Dad, what’s going on?”
Anthony lowered his voice. “The servants’ quarters are at the other end of the mansion. Even if you shouted, she couldn’t have heard it and come over so quickly.”
The soundproofing in the Crawford mansion was excellent. Otherwise, the rest of the Crawford family would have been woken up by Josh banging on the door, except for Blake, who had special privileges.
“Besides, there are so many children in this mansion. How did she know it was you shouting?” Anthony continued.
It was difficult to distinguish between the voices of the three boys, especially when they screamed.
Ashley being able to identify Josh’s voice was highly suspicious.
These two points were enough to prove that she was lying.
