Chapter 2 - THE BASEMENT DOOR
Michael did not call his lawyer yet.
He wanted to.
Every instinct told him to get Vanessa out of the house immediately.
But Ethan’s words had changed something.
If there was more, Michael needed to know how much.
He crouched in front of the boy.
“What basement?”
Vanessa interrupted.
“Michael, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Michael ignored her.
“Ethan?”
The boy pointed toward the hallway.
“The storage room downstairs.”
Michael felt Lily tighten her grip on his sleeve.
He looked at her.
“Has she locked you there?”
Lily nodded.
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“Oh my God.”
Michael stood.
“Do you think this is funny?”
“She had time-outs.”
“In a locked basement?”
“It is not a basement.”
“It’s below ground and has no windows.”
“It’s a storage room.”
Michael stared at her.
“That is not helping you.”
He took both children downstairs.
Vanessa followed.
Michael opened the door near the laundry room.
The light inside was off.
He flipped the switch.
Boxes lined the walls.
A folding chair sat in one corner.
Beside it was a small plastic cup.
Michael’s stomach twisted.
He stepped inside.
The air smelled stale.
Cold.
He noticed scratches near the inside of the door.
Small scratches.
Low to the ground.
Like fingernails.
He turned.
“Lily?”
She would not look inside.
Michael’s voice softened.
“Were you locked in here?”
She nodded.
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
Vanessa sighed loudly.
“She was being dramatic.”
Michael spun around.
“She’s eight.”
“She needed consequences.”
Michael took one step toward her.
“Did she have a phone?”
“No.”
“Water?”
Vanessa looked away.
“Sometimes.”
Michael clenched his jaw.
Ethan whispered.
“She cried a lot.”
Michael closed his eyes.
He could picture it.
His daughter alone in the dark.
Calling for someone.
Calling for him.
While he sat in a conference room two states away thinking he was building a better future for her.
He opened his eyes.
“Pack a bag.”
Vanessa blinked.
“What?”
“You’re leaving.”
“This is my house.”
“No.”
Michael pointed toward Lily and Ethan.
“This is their house.”
Vanessa’s expression turned cold.
“You don’t get to throw me out.”
“I do when my children are terrified of you.”
She laughed.
“You think a judge is going to believe this?”
Michael froze.
The way she said it was wrong.
Too confident.
Too prepared.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“You’re gone four nights a month.”
“Sometimes more.”
“You don’t know their routines.”
“You don’t take them to school.”
“You don’t know their teachers.”
“You don’t know their doctors.”
Michael stared at her.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you work.”
“I’m the parent who’s here.”
Michael felt something colder than anger.
“You’ve thought about this.”
Vanessa said nothing.
He pulled out his phone.
This time he called his attorney.
Daniel Brooks answered on the third ring.
“Mike?”
“I need you.”
Daniel heard something in Michael’s voice.
“What happened?”
Michael looked at his children.
“My wife has been hurting them.”
Silence.
Then Daniel’s tone changed.
“Do not leave the children alone with her.”
“I won’t.”
“Take photographs.”
Michael swallowed.
“Of what?”
“Anything visible.”
“Bruises.”
“Damage.”
“Rooms.”
“Everything.”
Michael looked toward Vanessa.
Her confidence disappeared slightly.
Daniel continued.
“And call the police.”
Vanessa snapped.
“No.”
Michael looked at her.
“What?”
“You are not calling the police.”
“I absolutely am.”
She stepped toward him.
“Michael, think carefully.”
He stared.
Then Vanessa said the one thing that made his blood run cold.
“If you call them, they’re going to ask why Lily already told someone at school.”
Michael’s face emptied.
“What did you say?”
Lily began crying.
Vanessa looked at the floor.
Michael turned toward his daughter.
“Who did you tell?”
Lily whispered.
“Mrs. Peterson.”
Her teacher.
Michael felt the room tilt.
“And what happened?”
Lily looked at Vanessa.
May you like
Then she said something Michael would never forget.
“Mommy made her go away.”
