Chapter 2 - The Blue Room
Emily wouldn't tell us anything else until Ethan was removed from the room.
That was the first boundary she had drawn since I arrived.
I was proud of her for it.
I was also terrified of what it meant.
Reyes motioned to the officers.
“Mr. Prescott, come with us.”
Ethan laughed.
“You can't arrest me.”
“No one said you're being arrested.”
“Then I'm staying.”
I stepped between him and Emily.
“You're leaving.”
His eyes hardened.
“You're enjoying this.”
“What?”
“This.”
He gestured toward Emily's bruised face.
“You want me to look like a monster.”
I stared at him.
“You beat my daughter.”
“I didn't.”
Emily whispered, “You did.”
Ethan's face changed.
She looked directly at him.
“You hit me.”
“I was trying to stop you from hurting yourself.”
“You tied my wrists.”
“I had no choice.”
“You held the door while Brandon hit me.”
Brandon's face went white.
“That is a lie.”
Emily looked at him.
“You said I would learn to keep my mouth shut.”
Brandon said nothing.
Reyes stepped closer.
“Mr. Prescott.”
Ethan finally backed away.
As the officers escorted him into the hallway, he looked over his shoulder.
His voice was almost tender.
“Emily, you have no idea what you've done.”
Then he disappeared.
Margaret remained.
Reyes turned toward her.
“You're coming with us too.”
She smiled.
“I'll call my attorney.”
“Please do.”
Something about Reyes's calmness made her nervous.
She walked out.
Brandon followed.
The room finally felt breathable.
Emily stared at the floor.
“Mom?”
“I’m here.”
“I need you to believe me.”
“I do.”
“No.”
She looked up.
“You believe I'm hurt.”
“That is not the same thing.”
I sat beside her.
“I believe you.”
Her lips trembled.
“I was afraid you wouldn't.”
I took her hand.
“When you were nine, you broke a window because your neighbor's dog got trapped in a storm drain.”
She gave a faint smile.
“You remember that?”
“I remember everything.”
“You told Dad I was reckless.”
“I was wrong.”
She smiled again.
Then it disappeared.
“The blue room is real.”
Reyes closed the door.
“Tell us about it.”
Emily looked at him.
“It's in the Prescott estate.”
“What does it look like?”
“Blue walls. No windows.”
“Where?”
“In the old east wing.”
Reyes exchanged a glance with me.
“What happens there?”
Emily lowered her voice.
“People are taken there when Margaret thinks they know too much.”
I felt my pulse increase.
“What people?”
“Employees. Former employees. Women who tried to leave.”
“What do you mean, taken?”
“Ethan said they were getting help.”
“From whom?”
Emily looked terrified.
“Dr. Lang.”
Reyes's expression sharpened.
“Dr. Nathan Lang?”
“You know him?”
“He's a psychiatrist.”
Emily nodded.
“He pretends to treat them.”
“Why would Margaret need a psychiatrist?”
Emily laughed bitterly.
“He doesn't treat them.”
“What does he do?”
“He documents them.”
I leaned forward.
“Documents them how?”
“He writes that they're unstable. That they have paranoia. That they're dangerous to themselves.”
Reyes's face hardened.
“So the family builds false psychiatric records.”
“Yes.”
“And uses them against people.”
Emily nodded.
“Against wives. Former employees. Anyone who threatens the family.”
A knock came at the door.
All three of us turned.
The same nurse from earlier entered.
“Mrs. Prescott, your discharge papers are ready.”
Emily stared at her.
“I haven't been cleared.”
The nurse smiled.
“Doctor Lang has signed off on you.”
My entire body went cold.
Reyes stood.
“Doctor Lang is not treating this patient.”
The nurse's smile disappeared.
“He was consulted.”
“By whom?”
She hesitated.
I walked toward her.
“Show me the order.”
“I don't have to.”
Reyes pulled out his badge.
“Yes, you do.”
She looked at him.
Then at me.
Then she ran.
Reyes cursed and sprinted after her.
I stayed with Emily.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“He knows we're here.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Lang.”
“How?”
She looked toward the door.
“Because Ethan texted him.”
I reached for my phone.
A message appeared.
From Ethan.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED OUT OF THIS.
Then another.
YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOUR DAUGHTER REALLY IS.
I stared at the screen.
Emily's face went pale.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“The second recording.”
I looked at her.
“You said there was one.”
“I didn't say there was only one.”
She swallowed.
“There are three.”
I leaned closer.
“Where?”
She closed her eyes.
“I hid them.”
“Where?”
“At home.”
The door slammed.
Reyes came back alone.
“The nurse is gone.”
Emily looked at him.
“That was intentional.”
Reyes nodded.
“Agreed.”
My phone rang.
This time there was no caller ID.
I answered.
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
“Colonel Hart.”
“Yes?”
“Your daughter is not the victim they think she is.”
I stiffened.
“Who is this?”
“You have ten minutes to decide whether you want to protect her or expose her.”
The line went dead.
Reyes watched me.
“What did they say?”
I looked at Emily.
“Someone says you aren't telling me everything.”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“I am.”
I wanted to believe her.
Then the heart monitor beside her bed began screaming.
Her heart rate had suddenly spiked.
She grabbed my wrist.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“There is something you need to know before we go home.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Ethan wasn't the one who locked me in the guesthouse.”
Reyes froze.
“Then who did?”
May you like
Emily looked at the closed door.
“Dad.”
