Chapter 2 - The Locked Trap
I dropped the cracked phone as if it had burned my skin.
Bennett was standing in the doorway, his small hands covering his face.
I rushed over and pulled him into a desperate hug.
I asked him who had been inside his room and where Aunt Lauren went.
He sobbed quietly against my shoulder.
He whispered that a man in a dark suit came through the back window.
The man had told him that Mommy would be in terrible trouble if he made a single sound.
I realized we had to get out of the house right this second.
I scooped Bennett into my arms and sprinted down the hallway toward the front door.
I grabbed the brass handle and pulled with all my strength.
It did not budge.
I frantically twisted the deadbolt, but the mechanism was completely jammed.
Someone had driven a thick steel screw straight through the lock from the outside.
We were intentionally trapped inside our own home.
I pulled my cell phone from my pocket to dial emergency services.
The screen displayed zero bars of service, which was impossible in our neighborhood.
A sophisticated signal jammer was operating somewhere on the property.
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Then, the heavy sound of boots echoed from the floorboards directly above us.
Whoever had taken Lauren was still inside the house, and they were walking down the stairs.
