The figure took a step closer, and for a moment, Lucas saw a glimmer of recognition.

And with that, everything changed.

"Who are you?" he demanded, trying to keep his voice steady.

"I'm someone who knows your family," the figure said, the words hanging in the air like a challenge.

At midnight, he made his move, slipping out of the house into the chill of the night. The old oak loomed in the distance, its branches reaching up towards the moon like skeletal fingers.