Chapter 3 - THE ROOM WITHOUT WINDOWS
The second door opened with a key taken from Julian.
He handed it over only after the trooper told him refusal would become part of the report.
Inside was a narrow concrete hallway.
Three doors.
No windows.
The first room was empty.
The second held shelves filled with canned food.
The third held my daughter.
Audrey was lying on a thin mattress on the floor.
For half a second, I thought she was dead.
Then her fingers moved.
“Audrey.”
Her eyes opened.
“Dad?”
I dropped beside her.
She tried to sit up.
Her body shook violently.
“Don't move.”
“You came.”
“Of course I came.”
“You really came.”
The way she said it broke something inside me.
Like she'd spent months teaching herself not to hope.
She touched my face.
“You're real?”
“I'm real.”
Then she started crying.
Not loudly.
That would have been easier.
She cried without sound.
I pulled my jacket around her shoulders.
Paramedics rushed in.
One looked at her arms.
Then her legs.
Then at Julian.
His expression went cold.
“We need to move her now.”
Audrey grabbed my wrist.
“No hospital.”
“You need a doctor.”
“They know him.”
“Who?”
“Julian.”
Her eyes darted toward the doorway.
“He knows everyone.”
I leaned close.
“Not everyone.”
The paramedic knelt.
“My name is Sarah.”
Audrey flinched.
“I'm not going to touch you until you say it's okay.”
Audrey studied her face.
Then slowly nodded.
Sarah checked her blood pressure.
Her expression tightened.
“How long since you've eaten?”
Audrey looked away.
“Audrey?”
“Yesterday.”
“What did you eat?”
“Toast.”
Sarah swallowed.
“All day?”
Audrey nodded.
Julian pushed into the doorway.
“She refuses food.”
Audrey recoiled so violently that the blood pressure cuff tore loose.
I stood.
Marcus stepped between us before I could move.
“Back up.”
“This is my wife.”
“And she's terrified of you.”
Julian looked toward the officers.
“You can't let these people take control of my house.”
The senior trooper answered calmly.
“This stopped being about your house.”
Audrey suddenly whispered.
“The camera.”
Everyone looked at her.
“What camera?” I asked.
She pointed weakly toward the ceiling.
A small black lens sat above the doorway.
Julian went pale.
Marcus noticed.
“So you recorded the room.”
“It was for her safety.”
Audrey shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“He watched me.”
Julian said nothing.
“He watched me sleep.”
My stomach turned.
“He recorded when they punished me.”
Rachel Warren stepped forward.
“Where are those recordings stored?”
Arthur appeared behind his son.
“You have no right to search private security systems.”
Rachel looked at him.
“You may want to stop talking.”
Miriam pushed through the hallway.
“This is absurd.”
Then Audrey saw her.
My daughter's entire body went rigid.
“Get her away from me.”
Miriam froze.
“Audrey, darling—”
“GET HER AWAY!”
The scream ripped out of her.
Sarah immediately blocked Audrey's view.
Marcus guided Miriam backward.
But before she left, Audrey said something that made everyone stop.
“She has the key.”
Miriam's face drained.
Rachel stared at her.
“What key?”
Audrey pointed toward her mother-in-law's neck.
A silver chain disappeared beneath Miriam's dress.
Miriam reached for it instinctively.
Too late.
The trooper saw.
“Ma'am, remove the necklace.”
“No.”
“Remove it.”
Arthur stepped between them.
“This is harassment.”
Rachel didn't blink.
“What does the key open?”
Audrey answered.
“The black cabinet.”
“What cabinet?”
“In Julian's office.”
Miriam's eyes filled with panic.
Julian lunged toward the stairs.
Marcus caught him before he got two steps.
“What is in the cabinet?” I asked.
Audrey looked at me.
“Everything.”
Then her eyelids fluttered.
May you like
The paramedic caught her before her head hit the wall.
Her heart monitor began screaming.
