how does the story end

Eventually, Mr. White gets up again to light a candle. While on the stairs, he suddenly hears a soft knock at the front door. Terrified, he rushes back to the bedroom. His wife is roused by the commotion, and he tries to pretend it was just a rat making the noise. However, the knocking grows louder. Mrs. White is ecstatic, believing that her son has indeed returned, and hurries downstairs to let him in before her husband can stop her. Mr. White is left with only one course of action: to make a final wish on the monkey’s paw. We are not told exactly what the wish is, but when he makes it, the knocking stops abruptly. When Mrs. White opens the door, there is nobody there.