Chapter 1 - The Locked Door

Ava looked toward the dark hallway, and her voice dropped to a terrified whisper.

“Because Tommy is still locked in the basement.”

The silence that followed her words felt thick enough to choke on.

I turned my head slowly and stared directly into my ex-wife’s swollen eyes.

Diane crossed her arms tightly and refused to look at me.

“He is just on a timeout for ruining the wedding cake,” Diane muttered defensively.

I did not wait to hear another pathetic excuse from her mouth.

I walked past the entire group of guilty adults and headed straight for the basement door.

Wade tried to stand up from his chair, but his knees buckled instantly.

I grabbed the brass handle of the basement door, but it would not turn.

A heavy steel padlock had been violently screwed into the old wooden frame.

I took two steps back and kicked the door right next to the deadbolt.

The old wood splintered loudly, and the door crashed open against the basement wall.

I reached for the light switch, but the bulb had been completely unscrewed.

I pulled out my phone, turned on the flashlight, and rushed down the wooden steps.

The air smelled intensely like damp concrete and dried urine.

I shined my light into the far corner and saw a tiny shape huddled beneath a dirty blanket.

My heart shattered into a million pieces when I pulled the fabric away.

My seven-year-old son was curled into a tight ball on the freezing floor.

Tommy had dark purple bruises forming along his jawline and a fresh cut on his cheek.

I dropped to my knees and gently pulled his shaking body into my arms.

“Daddy is here, buddy, and nobody is ever going to hurt you again,” I whispered into his hair.

Tommy gripped my shirt with trembling fingers and buried his face in my chest.

“Ava tried to save me, but the monster was too strong,” my little boy sobbed.

I promised him that his brave sister had already taken care of the monster upstairs.

I picked him up carefully, feeling how dangerously thin he had become over the last eight months.

I turned around to walk back up the stairs and get my children out of this nightmare.

But the staircase was no longer empty.

May you like

The Billionaire Put On a Waiter’s Apron to Test His Fiancée, but the Wom...

My father bet twenty dollars that I would walk through his front door al...

My Husband Slapped Me Out of His House for His Mistress, Then the Most F...

Diane’s older brother, Russ, was standing at the top of the steps blocking the exit.

He slapped a heavy aluminum baseball bat repeatedly against the palm of his hand.