“I can’t promise that.” Before I can react to her words, she reaches for the door handle.
“Wait—” I blurt out before she shuts the door again. “I mean it. I will stay here and help you run things, if you like. It will be like the old days.” My voice cracks on the last word, betraying me.
I don’t mean it, any of it, but this is the only move I have left to play. If she lets Sadie go, I will stay here and wait. Eventually someone will expose Megan.
Megan looks away, but before she does, I catch a wave of anger sweeping across her features. And then just like that, without saying another word, without making any promises, she slams the door shut and the darkness returns. It swallows us whole again.
Sadie leans into me, her small body trembling like a frightened animal. I hold her tighter, wishing my arms could shield her from whatever comes next.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” My lips brush against her tangled hair that smells of sweat and fear.
Every creak outside the door sends ice through my veins. Is Megan deciding our fate right now, planning to make us disappear?
The thought that Gabriel was in on this is the kind of betrayal that cuts deeper than any knife. He traded our daughter like currency. Six months of knowing exactly where she was. What secret is worth betraying your own child for?
Sadie’s breathing slows, but she won’t let go. Minutes stretch into what feels like hours as we huddle together, the walls of our prison seeming to inch closer with every moment. To pass the time and soothe her, I sing the songs I sang to her as a child, back when the world felt safer and I foolishly thought I could protect her from anything.
We’re not prepared when the door is flung open again.
Megan is standing there, alone this time. In her hand is a phone, and the flashlight is gone. She dangles the device in front of her and I recognize it. It’s mine.
“Judy, you made the right decision. After much thought, I’ve decided…I have decided to accept the offer. But it must be done properly.”
She walks into the room and hands me the phone before walking quickly back to the doorway, perhaps afraid I might tackle her.
“You must call your husband. Tell him to come here…alone. He should come and pick up Sadie within fifteen minutes. No police, no delay. If he does not show up or tries any tricks, the offer is off the table.”
I nod vigorously and drop my gaze to the phone in my hand, then at my daughter. She looks back at me, terrified, but also hopeful, trusting me to do the right thing, to make this nightmare go away.
With Megan standing watch at the door, I don’t even have to think about it. I make the call.
FORTY-SIX
“Gabriel, come and get Sadie. You have to be here within exactly fifteen minutes. No police. Hurry.”
Those were Megan’s exact instructions. Before I dialed, she said she would explain everything to him when he gets here and will make sure he transfers the money before leaving the camp.
I hear Gabriel start to say something, but the phone is yanked from my grip by Megan’s guard, the bald man, who appeared from nowhere and is now wearing a uniform and cap.
Fifteen minutes is more than enough time to drive straight from our apartment, but not enough time to do anything but react.
Megan takes a step forward while the guard shields her just outside the door. Her gaze moves between Sadie and me. I can feel my daughter shrink back next to me.
“It’s a real shame, Sadie.” Her eyes glint with something between rage and regret. “It could have been so beautiful. We would have been a real family, the four of us. You and Alice, and your mom and me.” She claps her hands in front of her and glances my way. “But you’ve made the right decision now, Judy. We can forget the past and start over. Together, we will do great things…continue what Mrs. Potter started.”
“Yes.” The word is heavy on my tongue, but I’m determined to play the part until I have the chance to get out of here and be with my daughter.
Megan takes a few more steps into the room and comes to stand in front of Sadie, putting out her arms. Sadie flinches away from her, curling up into a ball, continuing to rock back and forth.
Megan crouches to her level. “It’s okay, Sadie.” As she bends forward, I catch a glimpse of something in her breast pocket, not the usual pens she keeps there, but a slender syringe filled with some liquid.
I immediately imagine my friend lying somewhere on this property, dead because she was trying to save my daughter. Is that how she died?
Scarlett may have betrayed me by sleeping with my husband, but that all seems trivial now. She gave her life for Sadie.
“Sadie,” Megan starts as I shoot out an arm in an attempt to keep her away from my daughter.
“Don’t… Don’t touch her.”
