Chapter 2 - EVERY DOOR WAS LOCKED
Emily had tried to call Jake on the first night he left.
She had called seventeen times.
Seventeen.
The first ten calls went unanswered.
Then the calls stopped connecting.
She thought Jake was busy.
She thought perhaps he was in a dangerous location.
She waited.
The next morning, she tried again.
Her phone had no service.
Diane told her the storm had damaged the network.
Emily believed her.
Until she saw Tyler standing outside the room with her phone in his hand.
“Give it back.”
Tyler smiled.
“You don't need it.”
Emily reached for it.
He pulled it away.
“Jake needs to know I'm okay.”
Tyler's smile vanished.
“Jake doesn't want to hear from you.”
Emily froze.
“What?”
Tyler turned the screen toward her.
A message was open.
A message from Jake.
Stop contacting me. I know about him.
Emily stared at the screen.
Her heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Tyler shrugged.
“You tell me.”
That evening, Diane came into the room.
She placed a stack of printed messages on the bed.
Messages Emily had supposedly sent Jake.
I don't love you anymore.
I'm tired of being married to a man who is never here.
I have someone who actually stays.
Emily looked at the papers.
“I never wrote these.”
Diane smiled.
“Of course you did.”
“I didn't!”
Diane leaned closer.
“You know what Jake will think when he sees you like this?”
Emily's breath caught.
Diane pointed toward the bruises on her arm.
“He'll think you were hurt by someone else.”
Emily backed away.
“Let me call him.”
“No.”
“Please.”
Diane's expression hardened.
“You're not leaving this house.”
Emily looked toward the door.
It was locked.
She tried the handle.
Nothing.
She ran to the window.
The security shutters had been installed over the glass.
She turned around slowly.
“What are you doing?”
Diane's voice became cold.
“Protecting the family.”
From that day forward, every way Emily had to reach Jake disappeared.
Her phone was taken.
Her laptop vanished.
Her email password was changed.
Her bank account was frozen.
Even the mansion's landline was disconnected.
When she tried to scream for help, Tyler told the staff she was unstable.
When she tried to escape, he dragged her back inside.
When she begged Diane to stop, Diane simply said:
“Jake already believes you left him.”
Emily stared at her.
“Why?”
May you like
Diane smiled.
“Because I made sure he did.”
