My daughter always begged me to stay with Grandpa, but after hearing a phrase she repeated, I decided to go back in hiding… 
My seven-year-old daughter Emily had always been very close to my father, George.
After my mother’s death, Dad stayed alone in our old family home. He was already seventy-two years old, but he still did his own shopping, kept the garden and baked Emily’s favorite apple pie every Sunday.
At first, I was glad they were so close. However, over the past few months, Emily had begun to make the same request to me after each visit.
“Mom, can I stay at Grandpa’s house again tonight?”
Every time I said no, he was strangely serious.
But Grandpa is alone. He needs me to stay with him.
I allowed it several times. My father was a person I trusted completely, and I had never thought I had any reason to worry.
But Emily’s behavior soon began to change.
She stopped telling me what they were doing together.
“It’s a secret,” he said before quickly changing the subject.
One Sunday, when I went to pick her up, I noticed that the door leading to the second floor was locked. That door had never been closed before.
“Why is it closed?” I asked my father.
His smile immediately disappeared.
There are old things up there. It’s not safe for a girl.
