Chapter 1
Lily’s scream cut through the quiet estate just as Adrian’s car entered the driveway.
He slammed on the brakes.
For one terrible second, he could not tell where the sound had come from.
Then he heard a baby crying behind the house.
“Noah?”
Adrian jumped from the car and ran across the lawn. His heart pounded harder with every step.
He found seven-year-old Lily barefoot beside the doghouse. Her pink pajamas were stained with mud. She held her baby brother against her chest, trying to shield him from the cold wind.
Noah’s face was red from crying.
Lily looked up.
“Daddy!”
She tried to stand, but her legs collapsed beneath her.
Adrian caught both children before they hit the ground.
“What happened?” he demanded. “Why are you outside?”
Lily buried her face against his shoulder.
“Vanessa locked us in the doghouse,” she whispered. “She said animals belong outside.”
Adrian stared at the small wooden structure.
A blanket lay on the dirty floor. An empty baby bottle rested near a metal bowl filled with water.
His hands began to shake.
“How long?”
“Since it got dark.”
It was nearly midnight.
The back door opened.
Vanessa stepped onto the patio wearing a silk robe and holding a glass of wine.
“There you are,” she said casually. “I’ve been looking everywhere.”
Lily tightened her arms around Noah.
“She’s lying.”
Vanessa’s expression hardened.
“Lily has been acting out all day. She took Noah outside without permission.”
“She locked the door,” Lily cried. “She watched us through the window!”
Vanessa laughed.
“That’s ridiculous. She’s seven.”
Adrian slowly stood with Noah in one arm and Lily clinging to the other.
“We have security cameras.”
“The cameras were off,” Vanessa replied.
She said it too quickly.
Adrian carried the children inside and placed them on the living-room couch. He wrapped Lily in a blanket, then checked Noah’s cold hands.
Vanessa followed him.
“You’re frightening them,” she said. “Stop being dramatic.”
Adrian ignored her and opened the security system on the mansion’s television.
The main recordings had been erased.
Vanessa smiled.
“See?”
Adrian looked at her.
“You forgot about the encrypted backup.”
Her smile vanished.
He entered a private password.
The screen flickered.
Footage appeared from the rear camera.
Vanessa was shown dragging Lily toward the doghouse while the little girl carried Noah. Lily begged her to stop.
Vanessa pushed them inside and fastened the outside latch.
On the recording, she leaned close to the door.
“Maybe your father will finally understand that I’m his real family now.”
Adrian felt something inside him break.
Vanessa rushed toward the television.
“Turn that off!”
She grabbed for the remote, but Lily screamed.
Vanessa spun toward the child and lunged.
Adrian stepped between them. When Vanessa raised her hand, he struck it away and shoved her back.
“Don’t touch my daughter.”
Vanessa stared at him in shock.
“You’ll regret this.”
“No,” Adrian said. “You will.”
He dragged her outside despite her threats. He opened the doghouse and forced her inside.
Then he locked the same latch she had used on his children.
“Now you know how they felt.”
Police sirens approached the estate.
Adrian returned to Lily and Noah. He lifted both children into his arms and carried them toward the front door.
Lily looked over his shoulder.
“Daddy, she said you would never believe me.”
Adrian kissed her forehead.
“I believe you.”
But as the police cars stopped outside, Vanessa began screaming from the doghouse.
“He attacked me! He’s dangerous!”
Two officers drew their weapons.
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And Adrian realized the footage might not be enough to keep his family together.
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