At 62, I’ve been living alone since my husband passed away 15 years ago. Our son left us two decades back and now lives full-time in another country. However, I’ve noticed strange things happening in my house for the past month. At first, I brushed it off, thinking I might have just forgotten where I put them until one day.

For weeks, my furniture, photos, and little things like vases and picture frames started moving around by themselves in my house. I chalked it down to old age, but it became impossible to ignore as the days passed.

One day, I found a chair from the dining room pushed up against the living room wall! Then, I noticed a family portrait I hadn’t touched in years lying on the kitchen counter! I thought I was LOSING my mind!

To avoid jumping to conclusions and to reassure myself, a few days later, I started taking photos of each room before going to bed. I then compared them to the following morning’s view.

To my shock and dismay, the furniture HAD INDEED moved! And not just by an inch or two; sometimes, entire items were in different rooms! This wasn’t just me misremembering or being forgetful!

I couldn’t sleep due to the paranoia. I stayed awake, listening for any sounds that would give me a clue of what was happening. But the nights were silent.

I realized I needed solid proof, so I decided to set up a security camera system around the house. I installed two cameras in the living room, one in the kitchen, another in the hallway leading to the bedrooms, and one in my bedroom.

They were simple devices, but I was desperate to get to the bottom of this. That became the best choice but also a bad one because the truth turned out to be much darker than expected.

For the first few days, nothing unusual showed up on the footage. No movement, no shadows; just the same empty rooms and the stray cat who sometimes wandered around. But on the fifth day, I found something I hadn’t expected.

I played back the recording from my living room camera and froze when I saw it: a figure dressed entirely in black!

Whoever it was, they were careful not to expose any part of their body. Even their face was hidden beneath a mask! I nearly lost it when I saw what was actually happening!

I watched in horror as they moved slowly, almost cautiously, as if they knew exactly where the cameras were. It sent shivers down my spine!

The figure rearranged the items in my house, shifting furniture, placing objects in new positions, and even standing eerily still at times, just looking around. The footage showed them sneaking around the house at odd hours, mainly when I was out running errands or during the early morning when I’d just stepped out to get groceries.

The burglar moved so silently and systematically that I wondered how LONG this had been going on!

Panicking, I called the police and told them about the intruder. I played the footage back to the officer who came by, and he, too, was visibly disturbed.

“We’ll increase patrols in the area, ma’am,” he said, glancing uneasily at the paused image of the figure on my screen. “But until we catch this person, you need to be extra careful. Lock your doors and windows; all of them.”

I nodded, but couldn’t shake the feeling that more had to be done.

I realized I couldn’t live like this; constantly on edge, feeling unsafe in my own home. So, I asked the officer to help set up a plan. He suggested I leave the house during the day but stay nearby and watch the footage live. That way, if the intruder returned, the police would be ready.

The next day, I packed a small bag and left the house as if going for my usual errands. But instead of running to the store, I went to a small café across the street from my house. I could see my front door clearly from the window seat.

My laptop was set up in front of me, and I anxiously watched the live feed from my cameras. For hours, nothing happened. My heart pounded as the minutes ticked by. I sipped coffee, pretending to read a book, but I couldn’t focus on ANYTHING except the screen!

Then, just when I thought maybe today would be another false alarm, the front door creaked open.

My breath caught in my throat!

There, standing in my hallway, was the intruder; dressed the same as before! I grabbed my phone with trembling hands and called the same police officer I’d dealt with the other day.

“He’s here,” I whispered as if the intruder could hear me while I tried to keep my voice steady. “He’s in my house right NOW.”

The officer assured me they were already on their way. They had a team positioned just a few blocks down. I watched, my stomach twisting in knots, as the intruder moved through my house again. But this time, something was different.

He wasn’t just moving things around; he was going through my belongings. He opened drawers, pulled out old photo albums, and sifted through my personal documents!

I watched, helpless, as he walked into my bedroom and opened the closet. He picked up one of my late husband’s old sweaters, holding it up to his chest for a moment. Then, he dropped it carelessly to the floor. It was like he was taunting me, trying to show me he had control over my life!

Just as he was about to leave the room, a loud banging sound echoed through the house, the police had arrived! I saw the figure freeze for a split second before he bolted toward the back door. The officers burst in, guns drawn, shouting commands!

The figure tried to flee, but it was no use. They tackled him to the ground in my backyard!

I could see everything unfolding from my laptop like it was a movie. Relief washed over me, but it was quickly replaced by a sickening dread as they pulled off his mask.

It was my son.

The same son I hadn’t seen or spoken to in 20 years! He looked up at the officers with wild eyes, struggling against their grip.

“Let me go!” he shouted. “This is MY house! I have a right to be here!”

The officers exchanged confused glances and turned to look at each other as I rushed out of the café, stumbling across the street. I felt like I was moving in slow motion! When I finally reached the backyard, I stared at him, disbelief and heartbreak swirling inside me!

“Why, Trevor?” I managed to say, my voice barely a whisper. “Why would you DO this?”

I was taken aback when he laughed… a bitter, almost unrecognizable sound!

“Why do YOU think? You cut me off all those years ago! You left me with nothing!” He struggled against the officers holding him down. “I needed money, and you were just sitting on all of it, living in this big house by yourself!”

I felt my legs go weak. I had to clutch the side of the patio table to keep from collapsing!

“So, what?” I asked, my voice shaking. “You wanted to drive me insane? Make me think I was losing my mind?”

“YES!” he spat, glaring up at me with a look of pure hatred.

“If I could get you declared mentally unstable, I’d become your guardian. I could sell the house, get access to your accounts…”

I couldn’t listen anymore. I turned away, tears blurring my vision. I’d spent years missing him, wondering if I’d done something wrong as a mother, and now this? My son, the little boy I’d held in my arm, had come back to torment me for money?

After the police took him away, I sat down in the living room, the room that had once been my sanctuary. Now, it felt like a stranger’s house. Everything was where it should be, but it didn’t feel right anymore.

Days later, I got a call from the station. My son had confessed, on the record, to everything. His debts were enormous, and he was desperate.

I agreed to pay off his debts, not for him, but for the sake of ending this nightmare… he was still my child, after all.

I even dropped the charges against him but got a restraining order.

But I made one thing clear: “I never want to see or hear from you again, Trevor. And if I do, you’re going straight to jail! Your father would be so disappointed in who you’ve become. You’re no longer my son.”

I hung up the phone feeling emptier than I ever had in my entire life. I thought losing my husband was hard, but this… this was a pain I couldn’t even begin to describe.

In the following story, Lily was by her mother’s side when she started deteriorating from cancer. After her mother died, her greedy aunts and brother attended the will reading where they got millions! Lily got nothing and was distressed until the lawyer handed her something that would help her mourn her mother peacefully.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.