Chapter 3: The Longest Walk
By two in the morning, the house had gone completely silent.
Only the grandfather clock downstairs continued ticking.
Elena squeezed Lily’s tiny hand.
Together they crept down the staircase, stepping carefully along the edges of each step to avoid the creaks Elena knew by heart after five years of marriage.
Lily didn’t make a sound.
She held her breath like a little soldier.
They reached the front door.
Elena slowly turned the deadbolt.
Click.
She twisted the doorknob.
Pulled.
Nothing.
She frowned and pulled harder.
The door wouldn’t move.
Leaning closer, she finally saw them.
Long construction screws drilled straight through the frame and into the edge of the door.
It had been sealed shut.
“Looking for these?”
The voice shattered the silence.
Elena spun around.
David sat quietly in the living room armchair.
The blue glow from his phone illuminated his face from below, making him look almost inhuman.
A cordless power drill rested across his lap.
“I told you, El.”
His voice was almost gentle.
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
He stood.
“And it’s my job—as the head of this family—to keep my wife and daughter safe.”
May you like
He smiled.
“Even from themselves.”
