Chapter 2 - The Silent Alarm
The hallway was cold.
Every breath felt heavy.
Holding Tommy against my chest, I felt his heartbeat.
Faint.
Uneven.
Too quiet for a nine-month-old.
Lily sat beside me, gripping the hem of my jacket.
She wouldn't let go.
Like letting go would make the world collapse again.
"Lily, look at me." I crouched to her level. "You did so well. You protected Tommy. But now Daddy is here. I need you to tell me everything. When did Mommy leave?"
She swallowed hard.
Eyes on the open door down the hall.
"Two nights ago. Maybe three. A man came to the door. He was loud, Daddy. Yelling through the wood. Telling Mommy that time was up."
"What did Mommy do?"
"She locked us in the bedroom." A tear slipped down her cheek. "She said if she didn't go with them, they'd come inside and take Tommy. She gave me her phone. Told me not to turn it on unless you came back."
My heart stopped.
"Where is the phone, Lily?"
She reached into her sweater pocket.
Pulled out Sarah's phone.
Cracked screen.
Black glass.
I powered it on.
Notifications flooded in.
Missed calls.
Blocked numbers.
One unread text.
Sent three days ago, 2:14 AM.
"If you don't hand over the ledger by Friday, Richard will return home to two empty cribs. You know what we are capable of, Sarah."
Nausea washed over me.
Ledger?
What ledger?
I was a financial auditor.
Numbers.
Spreadsheets.
Compliance reports.
Sarah was a stay-at-home mother.
Gardening.
Bake sales.
Or that was the woman I married six years ago.
A metallic click echoed from the driveway.
I froze.
Instinct took over.
I pressed Lily down behind the sofa.
Pulled Tommy closer.
"Stay down, Lily. Not a sound."
Gravel crunched outside.
Footsteps.
Approaching the porch.
No knock.
Just the scrape of a key against the lock.
I couldn't fight while holding a baby and protecting a five-year-old.
I had to move.
I grabbed Sarah's phone.
My wallet.
Led Lily toward the back door.
Into the woods.
"Hold onto my belt, Lily. We walk fast. No talking."
We slipped into the tree line as the front door of my house was kicked open behind us.
A thunderous crack.
Voices.
Rough.
Urgent.
"Search the place! Find the girl and the baby! He was supposed to be alone!"
I didn't look back.
Tommy in one arm.
Lily's hand in the other.
May you like
We disappeared into the dark, running toward the only person I knew I could trust.
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