Chapter 6 - The Twenty-Minute Window
I stood in the center of the kitchen, the phone heavy in my hand, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps. Twenty minutes. Daniel was already on his way back, driving his heavy SUV through the winding forest roads. If he arrived and found the deadbolt thrown, the hairpins on the floor, and Clara uncovered, he would seal all of us in this grand, beautiful tomb.
I looked down the hall. Grace and Emily were sitting on the living room rug, quietly coloring, entirely unaware of the storm that was about to break over their heads.
"Sarah?" Grace looked up, her innocent eyes searching mine. "Did you find Mom?"
I forced a warm, completely artificial smile to my face, dropping to my knees to meet her eye level. "Grace, listen to me very carefully. We are going to play a new game. A super important secret game. I need you and Emily to put your coats on right now. We’re going to go sit in my car in the driveway and wait for Daddy to get home. Like a surprise party, okay?"
Grace’s brow furrowed, but she nodded, sensing the absolute intensity in my voice. "Okay, Sarah."
While the girls ran to the closet to grab their jackets, I sprinted back to the dark oak basement door. I hurried down the concrete steps, the chemical stench no longer registering in my brain. I reached the bottom and looked at Clara.
"He's coming back," I said, my voice rapid, professional. "He’ll be here in fifteen minutes. I can’t cut your chains right now—I don't have the key or the tools for the padlock. But I am going to get help. I am taking the girls out to the car. The second he walks through that front door, I’m locking him out."
Clara looked at me, the animalistic terror in her eyes turning into a spark of raw, desperate hope. "Take care of my girls, Sarah. Don't let him touch them."
"I promise you, Clara. On my life."
I ran back up the stairs, pulled the heavy oak door shut, and slid the industrial deadbolt back into place, making sure it looked exactly as it had before I arrived. I swept the bent hairpins into my pocket, leaving the corridor completely pristine.
I gathered Grace and Emily, holding their small hands tightly as we walked out the front door into the chilly autumn afternoon. I ushered them into the backseat of my sedan, buckling them in quickly. I got into the driver’s seat, inserted the key into the ignition, but I didn't start the engine. I wanted Daniel to think we were just waiting for him, completely innocent.
At exactly 4:42 p.m., the heavy tires of Daniel’s SUV crunched over the gravel driveway, pulling up right beside my car.
He stepped out, his white wedding suit replaced by a sharp corporate blazer, his glasses catching the pale afternoon sun. He looked at us sitting in the sedan, a flash of deep suspicion crossing his face before he smoothed it over with a wide, charming smile. He walked up to my window, tapping on the glass.
May you like
I rolled it down an inch, my foot hovering over the accelerator pedal, my heart hammering a warning.
"Hey honey," Daniel said, his voice smooth, checking the backseat to see the girls. "What are you guys doing out here in the cold? I thought the girls were sick."
