Chapter 5
Three days passed.
Daniel didn’t call.
He didn’t text.
I called him a dozen times the first day. Straight to voicemail. The second day, his phone went straight to voicemail every time. He’d blocked me.
Diane took over the house.
She moved back into the guest room, rearranged the kitchen cabinets, told me I was “too unstable” to be alone with Lily. I tried to argue, but I was so tired, so broken, I could barely get out of bed.
Lily stopped asking where Daddy was.
She started having nightmares.
Every night at two a.m., she’d scream, climbing into my bed, shaking, saying the man from the photo was standing at her window. I’d check the room, check the locks, hold her until she fell back asleep.
Diane would stand in the doorway, watching, shaking her head. “See? She’s traumatized. Because of you. If you’d just been honest with Daniel from the start, none of this would have happened.”
I wanted to slap her again.
But I didn’t have the strength.
On the fourth night, Lily woke up screaming louder than ever.
“He was here! He touched my hand! Mommy, he was here!”
I ran to her room.
The window was wide open.
The cold October wind was blowing the curtains. On the windowsill, there was a single red rose. And a muddy boot print on the carpet.
I grabbed Lily, held her tight, and ran downstairs. I locked every door, pushed the couch in front of the front door, grabbed a knife from the kitchen block.
Diane came out of her room, rubbing her eyes. “What is all the noise—”
“Someone was in her room.” My voice shook. “Call 911. Now.”
The police came in twenty minutes. They checked the house, dusted the window for prints, took the rose as evidence.
The lead officer shook his head when he was done.
“No forced entry. The window latch was loose—could’ve been opened from the outside, could’ve been left unlocked by accident. The boot print is too smudged to match. No prints on the rose. We’ll run it for DNA, but don’t hold your breath.”
“Are you serious?” I stared at him. “There’s a stalker in my house. He was in my daughter’s room. And you’re telling me there’s nothing you can do?”
“Ma’am, we don’t have enough for an arrest. If this Ethan Carter person contacts you again, or shows up at the house, call us immediately. Until then, I’d suggest you get new locks. An alarm system. Maybe stay with family for a few days.”
They left.
I sat on the couch, Lily asleep in my lap, the knife still on the coffee table. Diane was standing by the window, looking out into the dark.
“Family,” she said, snorting. “What family? Daniel won’t talk to you. Your parents live in Florida. You have no one, Sarah. Just me and Lily. And you hate me.”
I looked at her.
For the first time, I really looked at her.
The cold smile. The calculating eyes. The way she was standing, too calm, like this was all going exactly how she wanted.
“You knew he was coming, didn’t you?” I said, quiet.
Diane turned around. Her face was blank. “What are you talking about?”
“Ethan. You found him. You told him where we live. You told him about Lily. You gave him my phone number.” I stood up, carefully laying Lily on the couch, covering her with a blanket. “You pushed Lily’s plate that night. You made her eat off the floor. You knew I’d slap you. You knew it would make Daniel mad. And then you pulled out the photo. It was all a setup. Wasn’t it?”
Diane stared at me for a long second.
Then she smiled.
A slow, cold, evil smile that made my blood run cold.
“Took you long enough to figure it out.”
My breath caught.
“Why?” My voice shook. “Why would you do this? To Lily? To your own son?”
“Because you stole him from me.” Diane’s voice rose, sharp and bitter. “Before you came along, Daniel was mine. He called me every day. He came over for dinner every Sunday. He needed me. And then you showed up. Pretty little Sarah with your sad story and your big eyes. You wrapped him around your little finger. You got pregnant on purpose to trap him. You turned him against me.”
She stepped closer, her hands clenched into fists.
“I waited eight years to get my son back. I knew if I could prove you were a liar, prove you’d been hiding things, he’d leave you. He’d come running back to his mom, where he belongs. And Lily? She’s just collateral damage. She’ll get over it. Kids always do.”
I lunged at her.
I grabbed her shoulders, shaking her as hard as I could. “You’re sick! You used an eight-year-old girl as a pawn? You let a violent man into her life just to get back at me?”
Diane laughed, pushing me away. “Violent? Please. Ethan’s not violent anymore. He served his time. He went to therapy. He just wants his daughter. And once Daniel sees what a liar you are, he’ll help Ethan get custody. And then you’ll be gone. And Daniel and I will raise Lily together. The way it should’ve been from the start.”
I stared at her, disbelieving.
“You’re insane.”
“I’m a mother.” Diane smiled, smoothing her hair. “And mothers do whatever it takes to protect their children. Even if it means getting rid of the trash that’s poisoning them.”
I looked at Lily, sleeping peacefully on the couch.
I looked at the front door, blocked by the couch.
I knew then I couldn’t stay here.
Not with Diane. Not with Ethan out there. Not with Daniel gone, not answering my calls.
I had to run.
I had to take Lily and go somewhere safe. Somewhere Diane couldn’t find us. Somewhere I could face Ethan once and for all, and make sure he never hurt my family again.
I let go of Diane.
I walked to the closet by the front door and grabbed our winter coats.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Diane crossed her arms.
“Away.” I didn’t look at her. “I’m taking Lily. And I’m going to find Ethan. And I’m going to prove to Daniel that you’re the monster here. Not me.”
“You can’t take her. That’s kidnapping.”
“Try and stop me.”
I picked Lily up, careful not to wake her, slung my purse over my shoulder, and grabbed the car keys off the hook. I pushed the couch out of the way, unlocked the door, and stepped out into the cold night.
Diane screamed after me.
“Daniel will never forgive you! He’ll think you took her! He’ll hunt you down! You’ll lose her forever, Sarah! You hear me? You’ll lose everything!”
I didn’t look back.
I put Lily in her car seat, buckled her in, and got in the driver’s seat. I started the car, pulled out of the driveway, and turned onto the highway.
East.
Toward Michigan.
Toward the college town where I’d met Ethan.
Toward the past I’d spent eight years running from.
I didn’t know then that Diane was already on the phone.
Calling Daniel.
Telling him I’d kidnapped his daughter.
May you like
Telling him I was running straight to Ethan, to give Lily to him.
And that Daniel was already in his car, driving as fast as he could, to stop me.
