Chapter 11 - THE VOICE DOWNSTAIRS
I had never run that fast in my life.
I didn't remember grabbing my coat.
I didn't remember opening the door.
I barely remembered the drive.
All I could hear was Leah's scream repeating inside my head.
Someone is outside the house.
Then that man's voice.
Hello, sweetheart.
I called her again.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
My hands shook so badly that I nearly dropped the phone.
"Come on, Leah."
Emily sat beside me.
"She's smart."
"She's nine."
"She's also your daughter."
I looked at her.
"That's exactly why I'm afraid."
My mother was in the back seat.
She hadn't said a word.
Finally, she whispered:
"Whoever is inside that house knows about the trust."
I looked at her through the mirror.
"How?"
She swallowed.
"Because only four people knew the emergency provisions."
"Who?"
"Your grandfather."
"Dead."
"Me."
"You're here."
"Your father."
"Hospital."
She hesitated.
"And Caroline."
My blood went cold.
"Caroline is with Daniel."
My mother nodded.
"Then there's one other possibility."
"Who?"
She looked out the window.
"Someone who has been watching all of us."
We reached the house.
The front door was open.
I jumped out before the car fully stopped.
"Leah!"
No answer.
The house was dark.
The Christmas lights were still glowing around the windows.
That made everything worse.
The same decorations that had looked beautiful two nights ago now felt like evidence at a crime scene.
I ran inside.
"Leah!"
Emily followed.
My mother stayed near the entrance.
I checked the living room.
Empty.
Kitchen.
Empty.
Dining room.
Empty.
Then I heard something upstairs.
A soft creak.
I ran up.
Leah's bedroom door was open.
Her bed was empty.
Her stuffed rabbit was on the floor.
I stopped breathing.
"No."
Emily came behind me.
She saw the room.
"Oh God."
I picked up the rabbit.
It was still warm from her body.
Then I noticed something on the pillow.
A note.
My name was written across it.
DAD.
I opened it.
There were only six words.
You should have listened to your mother.
My mother appeared behind me.
She stared at the note.
Then her face changed.
"Graham."
"What?"
She pointed toward the window.
"Look."
I moved closer.
Snow covered the backyard.
There were footprints.
Three sets.
One adult.
One smaller.
And one set that seemed to disappear halfway across the yard.
I looked at my mother.
"What does that mean?"
She whispered:
"They didn't leave through the door."
Emily walked toward the closet.
She opened it.
Behind the clothes was a narrow opening.
A secret passage.
I stared.
"How many of these does this house have?"
My mother answered quietly:
"More than you know."
I stepped inside.
The passage was narrow and dark.
At the end was a small room.
A chair.
A desk.
And a security monitor.
The screen showed Leah.
She was sitting in a car.
Her hands were tied.
I nearly collapsed.
"Where is she?"
The camera angle changed.
I recognized the building.
The old warehouse.
The same one Daniel had used.
I turned toward the door.
"We're going."
My mother grabbed my arm.
"No."
I looked at her.
"That's my daughter."
"If you go there without thinking, Daniel will kill her."
"I don't care."
"You should."
She stared directly into my eyes.
"Because that's exactly what he wants."
I stopped.
She pointed at the screen.
"Look at Leah."
My daughter was crying.
But she wasn't panicking.
She was looking at something.
Then she slowly turned her head toward the camera.
She mouthed four words.
Dad, trust Grandma.
I stared at the screen.
My mother began crying.
"She knows."
"Knows what?"
May you like
My mother whispered:
"That I'm not the enemy."
