MY MOTHER-IN-LAW ACCIDENTALLY RECORDED SOMETHING SHE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SEE (6 of 13)

“I have to tell you something,” she said.

I braced myself.

“Everett and I… we used to talk. A lot. After his wife passed. I thought I was helping. But a few months ago, he started saying strange things. About… family. About wanting to feel normal again.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She looked at her lap. “He said he felt connected to us. That he wished he could be part of our family. That he watched us sometimes. I thought it was just grief talking. I didn’t tell you because I thought it would pass.”

“Nadine,” I whispered, stunned. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t want to scare you. Or make things worse.”

But it already was worse.

Now it wasn’t just creepy—it was a pattern. Obsession.