Chapter 2 - THE ROOM NEXT DOOR
========================================================================
The knob turned only a few degrees before something stopped it from the other side. Ethan tightened his grip, then heard metal drag softly across the floor beyond the door.
He looked down and saw the old chain twitch again beneath the narrow gap. Behind him, Lily whispered, “Ethan, don’t leave me.” He immediately released the knob and turned back to her. Whatever was inside that room could wait another minute. His sister could not.
“I’m not leaving you,” he said. Claire had backed toward the kitchen archway. The controlled woman from five minutes earlier seemed to have vanished. Her eyes kept jumping between Ethan, the side-room door, and her phone on the counter.
Ethan noticed the phone. “So that’s what you’re worried about?” he asked. Claire forced her shoulders straight. “You don’t understand what’s happening.” “Then explain the chain.”
She said nothing. Ethan crouched beside Lily again. His fingers searched the underside of the table until they found the small brass key taped behind one carved support.
Claire inhaled sharply. That was enough confirmation. Ethan peeled the key free and opened the padlock around Lily’s ankle. The instant the lock clicked, Lily pulled her foot beneath her chair as though the table itself might reach for her again.
Ethan removed his school jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She was not cold, but she clutched the fabric tightly because it smelled like laundry soap, rain, and the brother who had just come home.
“Can you stand?” he asked. Lily nodded, though she needed both hands on his arm to rise. Claire stepped forward. “She stays here.” Ethan moved between them.
“No.” Claire’s face hardened. “This is my house too.” “It’s Dad’s house,” Ethan replied. “And Lily is not furniture you get to lock to a table.”
The words landed heavily. Claire looked toward the front hall as if expecting their father, Daniel, to appear there and settle the argument in her favor.
Daniel was still at work across town. Ethan knew he could not rely on anyone walking through the door by accident. He had to make decisions now.
He reached for his phone. Claire lunged toward him. Ethan pulled Lily behind him before Claire could get close. “Don’t call anyone,” Claire said.
The sentence came too quickly. Ethan stared at her. “Why not?” “Because you’re turning a family matter into something it isn’t.” “A family matter?” He pointed toward the broken plates and the white dish covered in Lily’s cut hair. “Look around.”
Claire’s gaze flickered. From behind the closed door came another faint sound. Three slow knocks. Lily gripped Ethan’s shirt. Ethan felt the fear in her fingers and realized she knew exactly what those knocks meant.
“Tell me,” he said quietly. Lily shook her head. “You’re not in trouble.” Her eyes filled. Claire interrupted. “Don’t encourage her imagination.” Ethan turned so sharply that Claire fell silent.
“Lily.” His sister looked at him. “Is someone in that room?” After several seconds, she nodded. Ethan’s stomach dropped. “Who?” “I don’t know.” Claire gave a brittle laugh. “See? She doesn’t even know.”
Lily continued before Ethan could respond. “But I hear crying sometimes.” The room seemed to lose all warmth. Ethan looked toward the closed door again. A thin line of shadow showed beneath it. The old chain lay still now, almost harmless-looking, but every instinct in him said not to treat it that way.
He dialed their father. Claire moved once more. This time Ethan held up one hand. “Stay there.” Something in his voice stopped her. The call rang twice.
Daniel answered. “Hey, buddy. Everything okay?” Ethan stared at Lily’s uneven hair. “No.” The casual warmth disappeared from Daniel’s voice. “What happened?” “You need to come home.”
A pause. “Is Lily hurt?” Ethan looked at her ankle, then at the scissors on the table. “She’s safe with me right now.” “Right now?” Daniel repeated.
Ethan lowered his voice. “Dad, Claire chained her to the dining table.” Silence. For one second Ethan wondered if the call had disconnected. Then Daniel said, “Put Claire on the phone.”
“No.” “Ethan—” “There’s another chain.” That changed everything. Daniel’s breathing became audible through the speaker. “What do you mean?” “It goes under the door to the little storage room beside the dining room. Something is moving in there.”
Across the room, Claire closed her eyes. Daniel said, “Do not open that door.” Ethan froze. It was not the answer he expected. “What?”
“Take Lily outside. Go to Mrs. Parker’s house next door. I’m coming home now.” Ethan stared at the door. “Dad, why do you sound like you know something?”
Daniel did not answer immediately. That pause frightened Ethan more than Claire’s slap had. “Dad?” “Just do what I said.” The call ended. Ethan lowered the phone slowly.
Claire was watching him. “You see?” she said. “Your father knows this is complicated.” Ethan’s chest tightened. “What does he know?” Claire gave him a strange look, almost pitying. “More than you do.”
Lily tugged his sleeve. “I want to go outside.” That decided it. Ethan picked up his backpack, slipped one arm around Lily’s shoulders, and guided her toward the front hall.
Claire moved to block the doorway. Ethan stopped several feet away. “Move.” “You’re not taking her anywhere.” “Move, Claire.” She planted both hands on the doorframe.
For a moment no one moved. Then the side-room chain jerked hard enough to strike the floor. Claire turned instinctively toward the sound. Ethan used the distraction to lead Lily past her and into the hall.
They reached the front door. Claire followed. “Ethan, if you leave this house, you will regret it.” He looked back at her. “No,” he said. “I think you will.”
He opened the front door. Cool autumn air rushed inside. Lily stepped onto the porch first, still wrapped in his school jacket. Ethan followed, keeping himself between her and the house.
They crossed the lawn toward the neighboring home. Halfway there, Lily stopped. “What?” Ethan asked. She turned toward an upstairs window of their house.
May you like
A curtain moved. Not in the dining room. Not near the chained door. The movement came from Daniel’s locked home office on the second floor. Ethan stared. Someone was standing behind the curtain. A small hand touched the glass. Then disappeared.
========================================================================
