Ethan Was Blamed for Shattering the Planter — Then His Father Checked the Doorbell Camera
Chapter 3 — Something Inside
All three of them slowly looked toward the large cardboard box still sitting beside the wall.
Laura stepped backward.
“Daniel…”
The box looked completely ordinary.
Brown cardboard.
Shipping tape.
A white address label.
But after watching it move on camera, nobody wanted to approach it.
Daniel walked down the steps carefully.
“Stay back.”
Ethan immediately ignored him and followed.
“Dad, what if there’s an animal in there?”
“That’s exactly why I told you to stay back.”
Daniel crouched beside the box.
He listened.
Nothing.
Then came a faint scratching sound.
Laura covered her mouth.
Daniel pulled a pocketknife from his work pants.
He cut through one strip of tape.
The box moved.
Everyone jumped.
“Careful!” Laura shouted.
Daniel opened one cardboard flap.
Then another.
He stared inside.
His expression changed immediately.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Ethan rushed forward.
Inside the box was a small brown-and-white dog.
Its fur was dirty.
A thin red collar hung loosely around its neck.
The animal was trembling.
Ethan reached toward it.
“Hey, buddy.”
The dog immediately pressed itself into the corner.
“Slowly,” Daniel said.
Ethan lowered his voice.
“It’s okay.”
The dog sniffed his hand.
After several seconds, it moved forward.
Ethan lifted it gently from the box.
Laura stared.
“Someone shipped a dog?”
Daniel picked up the label.
Then frowned.
“No.”
“What?”
He turned the box toward Laura.
“This package isn’t ours.”
The address was correct.
But the name wasn’t Laura Miller.
It read:
MARGARET DAWSON.
Laura stared at it.
“Who is Margaret Dawson?”
Daniel looked toward the street.
“I have no idea.”
Then Ethan noticed something attached to the dog’s collar.
A small silver tag.
He turned it over.
One word had been engraved on the back.
BENJI.
Underneath was a phone number.
