Chapter 3 - THE DARK ROOM
Ethan handed Lily to Rosa, the housekeeper, who had come running from the kitchen.
“Take her upstairs.”
Rosa looked from Lily to Vivian.
Her face tightened.
“Mr. Cole—”
“Stay with Lily.”
Rosa nodded immediately.
Vivian stepped toward them.
“Rosa, don’t.”
Ethan turned.
“Don’t what?”
Vivian said nothing.
Rosa carried Lily upstairs.
Ethan waited until they disappeared.
Then he looked at the locked door.
“Where is the key?”
Vivian leaned against the wall.
“You’re being ridiculous.”
Ethan grabbed a heavy brass candleholder from the console table.
“What are you doing?”
He struck the lock.
Vivian jumped.
“Ethan!”
He hit it again.
Metal cracked.
A third blow tore the lock loose.
Ethan opened the door.
The room was barely six feet wide.
No windows.
Concrete floor.
Bare walls.
A wooden chair sat in the corner.
There was a small battery-powered lamp.
And beside it sat a plastic container with crackers and an unopened juice box.
Ethan felt sick.
“What is this?”
Vivian stood behind him.
“A storage room.”
He turned.
“Where’s the storage?”
No answer.
He stepped inside.
Something colorful lay beneath the chair.
A tiny pink sock.
Lily’s.
Ethan picked it up.
His hand trembled.
“How long?”
Vivian crossed her arms.
“You need to calm down.”
“How long did you lock her in here?”
“I didn’t lock her in there.”
He held up the sock.
“She came in here herself sometimes.”
“In the dark?”
“She liked hiding.”
Ethan stared at her.
Then he noticed something scratched into the wall.
Small marks.
Several crooked lines made with what looked like a crayon.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Then another group.
Like someone had been counting.
Ethan closed his eyes.
A memory hit him.
Three weeks earlier.
Lily had refused to sleep without her bedroom light on.
She had cried when he tried to close her door.
He had asked Vivian what was wrong.
Vivian had smiled and said, “She’s going through a phase.”
Another memory.
Lily stopped eating crackers.
Another phase.
She started asking Ethan exactly what time he would come home.
Another phase.
She cried when he went on a two-day business trip.
Another phase.
Ethan opened his eyes.
Every warning had been right in front of him.
And he had believed Vivian.
“You told me she was adjusting.”
“She was.”
“You told me she was acting out.”
“She was.”
“You told me I shouldn’t reward bad behavior by comforting her.”
Vivian rolled her eyes.
“Children need discipline.”
Ethan stared at her.
“That’s what you call this?”
She finally raised her voice.
“You think raising a child is all hugs and bedtime stories? You’re barely here! I’m the one dealing with her while you play CEO!”
The words landed.
Because part of them were true.
Ethan worked twelve-hour days.
Sometimes longer.
He had trusted Vivian.
Trusted the woman he married.
Trusted her with the most important person in his life.
And Lily had paid for it.
His phone was still in his hand.
This time, he called 911.
Vivian’s confidence cracked.
“Ethan.”
He gave the address.
She moved toward him.
“Hang up.”
He turned away.
She grabbed the phone.
Ethan caught her wrist.
“Stop.”
She slapped him.
The sound echoed through the hallway.
They stared at each other.
Then Rosa screamed upstairs.
“Mr. Cole!”
Ethan ran.
He found Rosa standing outside Lily’s bedroom.
Lily was inside, sitting against the headboard.
Her face was white.
She was clutching something in both hands.
“Daddy,” she whispered.
Ethan rushed toward her.
“What happened?”
Lily opened her hands.
Inside was a small black memory card.
“Miss Rosa found it in my bear.”
Ethan looked at Rosa.
She swallowed.
“I didn’t put it there.”
Lily looked toward the door.
May you like
Then whispered five words that made Ethan’s blood run cold.
“Mommy said to hide it.”
