My Wife Took Our Son and Daughter on a Trip, and They Never Came Back – 40 Years Later, I Found a Box Hidden Inside My Daughter’s Mattress That Made My Bl00d Run Cold

“Because Shaun hated it when it stopped.”

I slipped the watch into my pocket.

Next, we went into Aria’s room.

She had been nine. She loved sewing dresses for her dolls, though every stitch slanted because she always pulled the thread too tightly.

Her unfinished dollhouse still rested beside the window, its front door hanging crooked.

“Don’t touch that,” I said.

“You’ve had 40 years to fix it.”

“I know.”

My legs gave way, and I lowered myself onto Aria’s bed.

Something cracked beneath me.

Jackson looked over.

“Was that the frame?”