Chapter 3 - THE ESCAPE THROUGH THE GARDEN
Ethan grabbed Sophie before she could move.
“Stay with me.”
“I’m here.”
Celeste screamed from the darkness.
“Richard!”
A window shattered.
Cold evening air rushed inside.
Ethan used his phone flashlight.
Richard was gone.
The shattered garden door swung open.
Celeste stood near the wall.
Her face looked genuinely frightened now.
Ethan did not trust it.
He carried Sophie into the hallway.
Blackwood Manor had a backup generator.
The lights should have returned immediately.
They didn’t.
Someone had disabled it.
That meant the plan had begun before Ethan came home.
This was not a sudden affair.
Not a spontaneous escape.
Everything had been prepared.
A security guard appeared from the west hallway.
“Mr. Blackwood?”
“Police are coming.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Lock Celeste in the library.”
Her eyes widened.
“You cannot imprison me in my own house.”
Ethan stared at her.
“This stopped being your house when I found my daughter locked inside luggage.”
Celeste’s voice shook.
“Ethan, Richard is dangerous.”
“Then start telling the truth.”
“I will.”
“Tell it to the police.”
The guard escorted her away.
Sophie pressed her cheek to Ethan’s shoulder.
“Is she going to come back?”
“No.”
“You promise?”
The question hurt more than Ethan expected.
He had promised Sophie many things after Amelia died.
That he would protect her.
That home was safe.
That Celeste cared about her.
He had been wrong about at least one of those promises.
Maybe more.
“I promise I won’t leave you alone with her again.”
Police arrived four minutes later.
Detective Mara Collins took command.
She was in her early forties, calm-eyed and direct.
She listened without interrupting.
Then she examined the airline tickets, passports, suitcase, photograph, and blue ledger.
When she finished, she looked at Ethan.
“Mr. Blackwood, I need to ask something uncomfortable.”
“Ask.”
“Why did your wife have access to your daughter’s passport?”
Ethan felt ashamed before he even answered.
“Celeste handled most household documents.”
“School paperwork?”
“Yes.”
“Medical records?”
“Yes.”
“Travel permissions?”
“Yes.”
“Financial information relating to Sophie?”
Ethan paused.
“Possibly.”
Detective Collins closed her notebook.
“That is a lot of control.”
Ethan looked toward Sophie.
She was sitting on the sofa under a blanket while a female officer spoke gently with her.
“I trusted my wife.”
Collins nodded.
“That’s usually how these cases work.”
One officer entered carrying a laptop.
“Detective, we found something.”
They went to the security room.
The system had been manually erased at 3:12 that afternoon.
Every interior camera.
Every exterior camera.
Almost.
One old camera above the greenhouse had not been connected to the main system.
Its footage survived.
The officer played it.
At 3:46 p.m., Richard crossed the garden carrying two black duffel bags.
At 4:03, Celeste followed with Sophie.
The child was crying.
At 4:07, Richard returned alone.
At 4:11, he placed something inside the trunk of a dark sedan parked near the service gate.
Detective Collins paused the video.
“Can we enhance the plate?”
The officer nodded.
Ethan stared at the screen.
Then Sophie walked quietly into the room.
He immediately turned.
“You should be resting.”
She pointed at the car.
“That’s not Richard’s car.”
Collins crouched beside her.
“Do you know whose it is?”
Sophie nodded.
“Mr. Hale’s.”
Ethan frowned.
“Who is Mr. Hale?”
Sophie looked at him.
“The man who comes when you’re gone.”
Silence filled the room.
Ethan felt another piece of his life crack.
“What man?”
“He talks to Celeste downstairs.”
“Richard?”
Sophie shook her head.
“No.”
Detective Collins glanced at Ethan.
“Has anyone named Hale worked for you?”
Ethan thought.
Then his stomach dropped.
May you like
Victor Hale.
The private physician who had signed Amelia’s death certificate seven years earlier.
