Chapter 3 - THE LIE THAT BOUGHT US SIX HOURS
I forced myself to laugh.
“Your alarm system is broken again.”
Amanda said nothing.
I continued before she could interrupt.
“I’m at a motel outside Flagstaff.”
“My meeting was delayed until tomorrow.”
Another long pause followed.
Then she spoke.
“Put the television on.”
“What?”
“I want to hear it.”
Marcus grabbed the remote and turned on a late-night news channel.
I held the phone near the television.
“Happy now?”
Amanda exhaled.
“Sorry.”
“I’m just tired.”
“Enjoy Miami.”
“We are.”
Her tone softened, but I could hear suspicion beneath it.
“Is Ethan behaving?”
I looked across the kitchen at my son.
He lowered his eyes.
“I haven’t spoken to him.”
“Good.”
“He needs to learn consequences.”
My teeth pressed together.
“What did he do?”
Amanda laughed.
“Nothing worth discussing.”
Then another voice came through the phone.
Dylan.
“Ask him if the loser finished my laundry.”
Amanda covered the receiver too late.
I stayed silent.
She quickly changed the subject.
“We’ll be home Sunday night.”
“See you then.”
I ended the call.
Marcus checked his watch.
“She knows something triggered the alarm.”
“She’ll come back early.”
“Probably.”
“How long do we have?”
“Six hours if she catches the first flight.”
Ethan suddenly stood.
“There’s a camera.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Where?”
“In Amanda’s bedroom.”
My stomach dropped.
Ethan pointed toward a decorative clock on the dresser.
Marcus ran upstairs and returned with the clock.
A tiny camera lens was hidden inside the number twelve.
He removed the memory card.
“She may have seen you.”
“Can we erase it?”
“We can.”
Marcus studied the device.
“But if we erase it, she will know someone found it.”
I looked at Ethan.
“Pack a bag.”
His eyes widened.
“Are we leaving?”
“You are.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
Marcus placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I have a safe apartment across town.”
“He can stay there.”
Ethan shook his head.
“What about the women in the file?”
I stared at him.
Sixteen years old.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
And still thinking about strangers.
“We’re going to help them.”
“But first I’m getting you somewhere safe.”
He reluctantly went upstairs.
Marcus inserted the memory card into his laptop.
The most recent recording showed me entering Amanda’s bedroom.
There was no sound.
But my face was clearly visible.
Marcus leaned back.
“She already has this footage.”
“How do you know?”
“This camera uploads automatically.”
He opened the device settings.
The footage had been sent to an encrypted online account thirty minutes earlier.
Amanda knew I was home.
The motel lie had not fooled her.
She was only pretending.
Then a notification appeared on my phone.
Our family travel account had just confirmed four one-way tickets.
Miami to Columbus.
Departure time: forty minutes.
Marcus looked at me.
“She isn’t coming home to explain.”
“She’s coming home to destroy evidence.”
At that exact moment, the washing machine stopped.
May you like
A second later, every light in the house went out.
Then someone tried to open the back door.
