Chapter 4 - The House Goes DarkThat night, Sophie slept against Ethan's chest.
At three in the morning, she whispered:
“Will you disappear too?”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Never.”
It was the promise he had already broken once through absence.
He would spend the rest of his life earning it.
The next morning, child welfare investigator Beth Coleman arrived.
Vanessa tried to control the breakfast table.
She poured milk for Sophie.
“Drink.”
Sophie stared at the glass.
“She doesn't want it,” Ethan said.
“She always drinks milk.”
“No, I don't,” Sophie whispered.
Beth noticed.
Later, she interviewed Sophie using dolls.
Sophie placed one doll inside a wooden cupboard.
“She stays here until she tells where Mommy sleeps.”
Beth asked:
“What happens if she doesn't tell?”
Sophie squeezed the doll's arm.
“She gets hurt.”
Vanessa stormed downstairs.
“That is enough.”
Then every light went out.
The security alarm chirped once.
Silence.
The cameras died.
The front gate began opening.
Rosa ran from the laundry room.
“The cameras are off!”
Ethan rushed toward the sunroom.
“Sophie?”
Empty.
The side door stood open.
Outside, muddy footprints crossed the lawn.
A stuffed rabbit lay beside the garden gate.
Sophie’s rabbit.
Ethan ran.
A black SUV disappeared beyond the property.
Vanessa appeared behind him.
“My daughter!”
Ethan turned.
“Where did they take her?”
“What?”
“You knew this would happen.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Then Ethan saw Vanessa's eyes move.
Toward the garage security panel.
Someone had entered a manual override code.
Only four people knew it.
Ethan.
Vanessa.
Rosa.
Adrian.
He called his brother.
No answer.
Marcus Vale, Ethan's investigator, arrived twelve minutes later.
He studied the tire marks.
“Adrian owns a black SUV through a shell company.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
Then Olivia arrived at the police perimeter.
Vanessa pointed at her.
“She took Sophie!”
Olivia stared at Ethan.
“Who knew about the garden door?”
“Rosa. Vanessa. Adrian.”
Olivia whispered:
“And my mother.”
She pulled a photograph from her coat.
A younger Olivia stood beside Celeste Cross.
Vanessa's mother.
On the back was an address:
Point Dume.
They drove toward the cliffs.
Halfway there, Ethan's phone rang.
Sophie was crying.
“Daddy?”
“I'm here.”
Vanessa's voice replaced hers.
“Come to the cliff house alone.”
The call ended.
May you like
Ahead, black smoke rose over the ocean.
Celeste Cross's estate was burning.
Related Stories
