Chapter 1 - THE CHAIN ON THE MARBLE FLOOR
The first thing Ethan Cole heard when he opened his front door was his four-year-old daughter screaming.
Not crying.
Screaming.
“Daddy!”
His hand froze on the door handle.
Then came another sound.
Metal scraping across marble.
Ethan dropped his briefcase.
“Lily?”
He ran through the foyer.
What he saw stopped him cold.
His daughter was on the white marble floor, barefoot and shaking, crawling backward with tears pouring down her face.
A heavy decorative chain dragged across the floor beside her.
And standing over Lily was Ethan’s wife, Vivian.
She was holding one end of the chain.
Vivian looked almost as shocked to see Ethan as Lily did.
“Ethan?”
Lily stretched both hands toward him.
“Daddy, please!”
Something inside him broke.
He crossed the room in three steps.
Vivian quickly dropped the chain.
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
Ethan shoved the chain away with his shoe and lifted Lily into his arms.
His daughter wrapped herself around his neck so tightly he could barely breathe.
Her whole body was trembling.
“Hey. Hey, baby. I’ve got you.”
Lily buried her wet face against his shoulder.
Vivian tried to laugh.
It sounded nervous.
“You’re overreacting. She was throwing another tantrum.”
Ethan slowly looked at her.
“What was the chain for?”
Vivian folded her arms.
“It’s decorative.”
“Then why was she crawling away from you?”
“She was playing.”
Lily suddenly whimpered.
“No, Daddy.”
Vivian’s eyes snapped toward her.
Ethan felt Lily stiffen.
That reaction scared him more than the chain.
He turned away from Vivian.
“Lily, look at me.”
She wouldn’t.
“Sweetheart.”
Slowly, Lily raised her face.
Her cheeks were soaked.
Her eyes were red.
And there were faint red marks around her upper arm.
Ethan’s voice changed.
“Who did that?”
Vivian spoke instantly.
“She fell.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I didn’t ask you.”
Vivian’s jaw tightened.
Lily stared at her stepmother.
Then at Ethan.
Her bottom lip trembled.
“She gets mad when I tell.”
The entire room went silent.
Ethan felt cold.
“What do you mean?”
Vivian stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Ethan moved between them.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Vivian stared at him.
For the first time in their three-year marriage, she looked nervous.
Then something caught Ethan’s eye.
Across the foyer, mounted inside the custom security cabinet, one monitor was still on.
The house had twelve cameras.
He had almost forgotten about them.
A live image showed the hallway.
Another showed the kitchen.
Another showed the foyer.
Ethan stared at the screen.
Then at Vivian.
Her face went pale.
He walked toward the security system.
Vivian moved faster.
“Ethan, wait.”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Why?”
She said nothing.
His pulse began hammering.
Ethan touched the playback controls.
Vivian stepped toward the monitor.
“I said wait.”
Ethan turned.
And the look on her face told him everything.
Not guilt.
Fear.
He entered the security code.
The screen changed.
A list of recorded clips appeared.
Hundreds of them.
Ethan selected the most recent recording.
Vivian whispered, “Don’t.”
May you like
He pressed PLAY.
And ten seconds later, Ethan realized the chain was only the beginning.
