Chapter 3 - THE CLOSET HIDING PLACE
Inside the bedroom closet, Sadie held Nolan tight against her chest, their small bodies trembling as Evelyn’s footsteps drew closer to the master landing. Nolan began to sob quietly into Sadie’s shoulder, terrified that the woman who used to be their safe harbor was now hunting them like an intruder. Sadie kept her hand clamped over his mouth to muffle the sound, whispering the code word back to him like a prayer: “Lighthouse, Noly. We’re safe. The lighthouse is standing.”
Outside in the hallway, I listened to Evelyn mutter angrily to herself about locked doors and ungrateful children, her breath coming in heavy, erratic gasps. I knew I couldn't let her reach that bedroom door. The police were twenty blocks away, battling mid-afternoon traffic, and every second she spent inside that house put the children at extreme risk.
