Chapter 2 - THE CAR AT THE BACK GATE
The engine roared before Daniel reached the hallway.
He stopped beneath the chandelier.
For half a second, everything inside Blackwood Manor seemed perfectly still.
Then tires screamed against wet pavement behind the house.
Daniel ran.
He crossed the marble foyer, passed the empty ballroom, and shoved through the rear doors.
Rain struck his face.
A black sedan was already racing toward the service gate.
Daniel caught one glimpse of Rebecca in the passenger seat.
Richard Blackwood was behind the wheel.
“Stop!”
Daniel ran down the steps.
The sedan accelerated.
A patrol car entered the front driveway at the same moment.
Daniel pointed toward the rear gate.
“They’re leaving!”
One officer grabbed his radio.
Another sprinted toward his cruiser.
But Richard knew the property better than anyone.
The sedan disappeared through the trees before the police could reach the service road.
Daniel stood in the rain, breathing hard.
Then he remembered Emily.
He turned and ran back.
Paramedics were already surrounding the SUV.
Emily had been placed on a stretcher.
Vanessa stood beside her.
Her burgundy gown was soaked.
She looked nothing like the elegant woman who had hosted a charity dinner an hour earlier.
“Daddy.”
Emily’s voice was weak.
Daniel immediately went to her.
“I’m right here.”
She reached for his hand.
Daniel took it.
One of the paramedics looked at him.
“We need to move.”
Daniel climbed into the ambulance.
Vanessa tried to follow.
Emily tightened her grip on Daniel.
“No.”
Vanessa stopped.
The word had barely been audible.
But everyone heard it.
Emily looked at her mother.
“I want Daddy.”
Vanessa’s face collapsed.
Daniel looked at the paramedic.
“She comes with me.”
The doors closed.
Vanessa remained in the driveway.
For the first time in Emily’s life, her mother was not the person she wanted when she was afraid.
Daniel sat beside the stretcher while the ambulance raced toward County Children’s Hospital.
Emily’s eyes drifted shut.
“Sweetheart.”
She opened them again.
“Can you tell me what happened tonight?”
The paramedic glanced at Daniel.
“Don’t push her.”
Daniel nodded.
Emily stared at the ceiling.
“Aunt Rebecca got mad.”
“Why?”
“I told Grandpa.”
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
“Told Grandpa what?”
Emily swallowed.
“That she kept locking me downstairs.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
“Downstairs where?”
“The old room.”
“What old room?”
Emily looked confused.
“The one behind the wine cellar.”
Daniel had lived at Blackwood Manor for almost four years.
He had never heard of a room behind the wine cellar.
“What happened there?”
Emily’s fingers trembled.
“She said it was where bad children learned to stop lying.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
The paramedic looked away.
“What did Grandpa say when you told him?”
Emily’s voice became smaller.
“He said Rebecca was under a lot of stress.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“He knew?”
Emily nodded.
“And tonight?”
“I told him I was going to tell you.”
The ambulance hit a bump.
Emily winced.
Daniel squeezed her hand.
“What happened after that?”
“Aunt Rebecca heard me.”
Her breathing quickened.
“She took me outside.”
Daniel felt something cold move through his chest.
“She said I was ruining everything.”
“Then what?”
Emily stared at him.
“She pushed me near the water.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“I tried to climb out.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“But my ankle hurt.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“You don’t have to say anything else.”
Emily shook her head.
“There’s something you need.”
“What?”
“My backpack.”
Daniel frowned.
“What’s in your backpack?”
Emily looked directly at him.
“The phone.”
Daniel’s heart stopped.
“What phone?”
“The one Aunt Rebecca doesn’t know I have.”
Before Daniel could ask another question, the ambulance doors opened.
Doctors rushed Emily inside.
Daniel followed.
But one thought stayed with him.
May you like
His eight-year-old daughter had hidden a phone.
And whatever was on it had frightened her enough to risk everything to protect it.
