Chapter 2 - The Woman Behind the Locked Door
Maren looked nothing like the woman Everett had left three days earlier.
Her hair was tangled.
She wore thin pajama pants and a loose cotton shirt.
Her face was pale.
A dark bruise was beginning to form near her temple.
But Everett noticed her hands first.
They were trembling violently.
“Maren…”
She grabbed his coat.
“Where is Bennett?”
Everett froze.
“I thought he was with you.”
Her eyes widened.
“No.”
One word.
But the terror behind it changed everything.
“Your mother took him.”
Everett tightened his grip around her.
“What?”
“She said I wasn’t stable enough to care for him.”
Maren struggled to breathe.
“She took him this morning. I tried to follow her and Audra stopped me.”
She pointed toward the hallway.
“They locked me in here.”
Everett looked at the door.
Then at the bruise on her face.
“How long?”
“Since this morning.”
His expression changed.
“Since this morning?”
Maren nodded.
“I screamed.”
Her voice broke.
“I kept screaming, Everett.”
Downstairs, music continued playing.
Champagne glasses continued clinking.
People continued laughing.
And all that time his wife had been locked inside a room.
Everett pulled out his phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
Maren grabbed his wrist.
“No.”
He stared at her.
“Find Bennett first.”
That was enough.
Everett wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Can you walk?”
“Yes.”
They searched every room.
No Bennett.
Everett called his son’s name even though he knew a seven-week-old baby could not answer.
Then Maren stopped.
“Listen.”
A faint sound came from the opposite side of the hall.
A tiny, weak cry.
They ran.
The unused nursery beside Celeste’s bedroom was closed.
Everett pushed the door open.
Cold air struck his face.
The window was wide open.
January wind poured into the room.
The curtains moved violently.
Snow had already begun collecting on the wooden floor.
And beneath that open window sat a portable crib.
Bennett lay inside it.
Far too still.
“No.”
Everett ran forward.
He lifted his son.
The baby’s cheeks were pale.
His tiny body felt frighteningly cold.
“Bennett.”
Everett pressed him against his chest.
“Daddy’s here.”
Maren covered her mouth.
“I told them.”
Tears streamed down her face.
“He had a fever last night. I told your mother he needed a doctor.”
Footsteps sounded behind them.
Celeste appeared in the doorway.
Audra stood beside her.
Celeste looked at the open window.
“Someone close that before the room becomes uncomfortable.”
Everett slowly turned.
For several seconds, he could not speak.
“My son is freezing.”
Celeste sighed.
“He was too warm earlier.”
Maren stared at her.
“He had a fever!”
“And you were panicking.”
“I asked you to call his doctor!”
“You have been dramatic since Bennett was born.”
Everett removed his coat and wrapped it around the baby.
Then he looked at Audra.
“Why was Maren locked in that room?”
Audra crossed her arms.
“She was hysterical.”
“She was trying to get to her child.”
“She was screaming in front of the staff.”
Everett took a step toward her.
“So you imprisoned her?”
Celeste moved between them.
“Everything we did was to protect this family.”
Everett stared at his mother.
His voice became almost unnaturally calm.
“Protect it from what?”
Celeste looked at Maren.
“Instability.”
Maren flinched.
Everett saw it.
And something inside him broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Something simply disappeared.
The instinct to defend his mother.
The instinct to make excuses.
The instinct to believe that blood automatically meant family.
Everett placed one arm around Maren.
He held Bennett against his chest with the other.
Then he walked toward the back staircase.
Celeste followed.
“Where are you going?”
Everett stopped.
May you like
He looked over his shoulder.
“Somewhere you cannot reach them.”
