I don’t remember running.
I remember the elevator. Daniel shouting into his radio. Eleanor grabbing my arm. And then somehow I was in the back of a black Halston SUV doing ninety on the Saw Mill Parkway.
Sarah had dropped the girls at my house after school. It was my night.
I called Sophie. No answer.
I called again. No answer.
My hands were shaking so badly I nearly dropped the phone on the floor of the car.
“Call the police,” Daniel said.
“I already did. Two minutes ago.”
Lucy finally picked up.
“Dad?”
Air rushed back into my lungs.
“Lucy. Where are you right now?”
“At your house. Watching TV.”
“Where’s Sophie?”
“Upstairs. In the shower.”
“Listen to me very carefully, baby. I need you to lock the front door and the back door. Right now.”
“Why?”
“Do it now, Lucy.”
My voice scared her. I could hear it. I hated myself for it.
“Dad?”
“Go upstairs. Get Sophie. Go into my bedroom and lock the door. Don’t open it for anybody. Anybody. Except a police officer in a uniform. Do you understand me?”
She started crying. “Dad, what’s happening?”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you. I promise. I’m coming.”
I needed her to believe it. I needed to believe it too.
The police got there before we did. Two patrol cars, lights going.
Marcus wasn’t there.
No broken windows. No forced doors. Nobody had tried to get in. The photo had been taken from the sidewalk across the street, probably from a moving car, maybe twenty minutes before the text.
My daughters were safe.
When I came through the front door, Lucy launched herself into my chest so hard she nearly knocked me down.
Sophie tried to act grown-up about it. She lasted about six seconds before she was crying too.
I held both of them on the living room floor.
And right then, something inside me changed.
All day long I’d been reacting. To Gavin. To Eleanor. To Halston. To Marcus.
Not anymore.
Nobody was going to use my children as leverage.
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
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