Chapter 4 - The Confession in the DarkIt was 2:00 a.m. when the nurse finally discharged Emily into my custody, clearing her physically with minor dehydration, malnutrition, and soft tissue trauma. I carried her straight to my apartment, wrapping her in fresh pajamas and tucking her into my own bed. She didn't want to let go of my hand, so I pulled a chair right up against the mattress, sitting in the dark while her soft, even breathing filled the silent room.
My phone buzzed violently on the nightstand.
I snatched it up before the vibration could wake Emily. It was an unknown number, but the text message attached made my stomach drop into a bottomless pit.
She knew about the pool, Michael. She helped pick the padlock. If you talk to Vance, the next package won't be in the backyard.
A second text followed immediately—a short video clip.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I pressed play. The screen flickered to life, showing the interior of a dimly lit basement. A camera panned across concrete walls before stopping on a figure tied securely to a wooden chair, a dark burlap sack pulled over their head.
A gloved hand stepped into the frame, grabbing the top of the sack and ripping it off.
It was Sarah.
Her face was bruised, her mouth taped shut with industrial duct tape, and her eyes wide with unadulterated terror as she stared directly into the lens. A low, distorted voice chuckled off-camera.
“Tick-tock, Daddy. You have twelve hours to drop the custody charges and tell the police it was a family prank. Otherwise... Mommy goes swimming with the rest of the garbage.”
The video cut to black.
I sat frozen in the darkness of my bedroom, the cold light of the phone screen illuminating my face. Sarah was supposed to be at the local police station in protective custody. How the hell did Jason get to her? Or—was she playing a double game from the very beginning?
"Daddy?"
A small, sleepy voice broke the silence. I snapped my head around. Emily was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes, her little face pale in the moonlight.
"I'm right here, sweetie. Go back to sleep," I whispered, forcing a calm smile to my face.
"Don't trust her," Emily said, her voice dropping to an eerie, hollow whisper that sent a shiver straight down my spine.
"Trust who, Em?"
May you like
"Mommy," Emily whispered, staring blankly at the wall. "She didn't lock me in the cage because Jason made her. She locked me in because I saw what they put in the bags. And Mommy said if I told you... Jason would make sure I never saw the sun again."
Before I could process the horrifying weight of her words, the power in my apartment building suddenly clicked off, plunging the entire room into pitch-black darkness.
