Chapter 1 – The Door Opened Too Late
The basement light flickered weakly overhead.
I barely remembered taking the stairs.
One second I was standing at the top.
The next, I was on my knees beside my son.
"Noah."
He didn't answer.
He was curled into the corner against a stack of old cardboard boxes, his blue hoodie damp with sweat despite the freezing room. His lips had turned pale, and dried vomit stained the front of his shirt.
His tiny body shivered so violently I thought he was having a seizure.
Emily cried out behind me.
"Oh, God..."
She dropped beside him, pulling his head gently into her lap.
His eyelids fluttered.
"Dad...?"
The word barely escaped his lips.
"I'm here, buddy."
I grabbed him into my arms.
His body felt frighteningly light.
His skin was burning hot while his fingers were ice cold.
Sarah finally reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I didn't know he was actually sick."
Neither Emily nor I looked at her.
She kept talking anyway.
"He kept saying his stomach hurt."
"He wanted his phone."
"I thought he was trying to ruin Matthew's birthday."
I slowly stood with Noah in my arms.
"You locked an eight-year-old child in a freezing basement."
"I was teaching him consequences."
I stared at my own sister.
"No."
"You were protecting your party."
Outside, Emily was already calling 911.
Noah suddenly grabbed my shirt with surprising strength.
"Dad..."
"I tried calling you."
My heart stopped.
"My phone..."
"They took it."
I turned slowly toward Sarah.
"You took his emergency phone?"
Her face lost all color.
"I... I didn't want him playing games."
"It wasn't a game."
"It was the phone we gave him in case he needed us."
May you like
For the first time that afternoon...
Sarah looked afraid.
