Chapter 1 - The Locked Door
My hands were shaking violently as I gripped the cold brass handle of the basement door.
I could hear the heavy thud of his expensive boots landing on the wooden stairs just a few feet below me.
I turned the deadbolt with a loud, final click that echoed through the quiet kitchen.
My heart was pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird desperately trying to escape.
Tyler walked back into the room holding two crystal glasses filled with iced tea.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me standing aggressively against the locked door.
The bright, happy smile he had been wearing all afternoon completely vanished from his face.
He looked at the locked deadbolt and then slowly looked up at my terrified expression.
"Mom, what on earth are you doing?" he asked, his voice trembling with sudden confusion.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing pulse before I answered my only son.
"We are calling the police right now," I said, praying my voice sounded much stronger than I felt.
Tyler dropped both glasses onto the hardwood floor, sending shattered crystal and sweet tea flying everywhere.
"Have you completely lost your mind?" he screamed, taking a cautious step toward me with his hands raised.
I held my palm up to stop him from coming any closer, my eyes welling with terrified tears.
"That young man down there is not who he says he is," I whispered frantically.
I quickly explained that I had recognized his new boyfriend's face the absolute second they walked into my home.
He was the exact same man I had seen on a national true crime broadcast just three days ago.
His real name was not Julian, and he was definitely not a harmless college student studying business.
He was a highly dangerous federal fugitive wanted for a horrific string of brutal home invasions across state lines.
Tyler shook his head in sheer disbelief, insisting loudly that I must have made a terrible mistake.
He claimed Julian had been in all of his accounting classes since the beginning of the semester.
I pulled my cell phone from my apron pocket with trembling fingers to dial the emergency emergency number.
I desperately needed to get the authorities to my house before that monster figured out a way to break through the solid wood.
Before I could even press the first number on my screen, a low, menacing chuckle vibrated through the heavy door.
"You really always were too smart for your own good, Diane," the boyfriend's dark, mocking voice whispered through the keyhole.
My blood ran completely freezing cold as I realized he had completely dropped his innocent act.
He had never introduced himself to me using my first name during our brief greeting.
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Tyler froze in place, the color rapidly draining from his face as he recognized the sinister tone of his partner's voice.
Then, the sudden, distinct sound of a police siren began wailing from inside the dark basement beneath our feet.
