Chapter 5 - The Wrong Voice
Amanda recovered faster than Ethan expected.
“I must have the time wrong.”
Officer Martinez didn't blink.
“You said eight.”
“I was upset.”
“You also said the satellite system was down,” Ethan said.
Amanda shot him a look.
Martinez caught it.
“What satellite system?”
“Nothing.”
Ethan stood straighter. “She said Dad couldn't call us because the satellite system was down.”
Amanda's voice hardened. “Ethan, enough.”
“No.”
It was the first time he had ever said that to her.
His knees shook afterward.
Officer Shaw took Amanda into the living room while Martinez stayed with the kids.
“Do you have another adult you trust?” he asked.
“Aunt Claire,” Ethan said immediately.
Amanda heard him from across the room.
“No.”
Martinez turned. “Excuse me?”
“Claire is Daniel's sister. We are not in contact with her.”
“I am,” Ethan said.
Amanda's face changed again.
Just a flicker.
But he saw it.
Officer Martinez asked for Claire's number.
Ethan pretended not to remember.
The number was folded inside his shoe.
Dad had specifically told him to call from the bus station.
Not here.
Something about that mattered.
Martinez finally arranged for a child-welfare caseworker to come by the next morning. He explained that because there was no immediate evidence of serious physical injury, the children would remain in the home overnight while officers documented statements and contacted Daniel's emergency medical team.
Before leaving, he pulled Ethan aside.
“If you feel unsafe, call 911. Understand?”
Ethan nodded.
Amanda smiled from the kitchen.
The smile disappeared the moment the front door closed.
“Upstairs.”
Lily grabbed Ethan's hand.
Amanda stepped in front of them.
“Not together.”
Lily squeezed harder.
“No.”
Amanda bent down. “Lily, your brother has been lying to you.”
“He's not lying.”
“He is the reason the police were here.”
“You called them.”
Amanda's lips pressed into a thin line.
Ethan saw the slap coming before it happened.
Not to his face.
Amanda struck the wall beside Lily's head.
Lily screamed and ducked.
Amanda froze.
For a second, even she seemed shocked by what she had done.
Ethan stepped between them.
“Don't.”
Amanda looked down at him.
“You think that recorder saved you?”
He said nothing.
She leaned closer.
“Whatever it sent, I can fix.”
Then she lowered her voice.
“And your father is in a hospital two thousand miles away. So right now, this is my house.”
She sent Lily to her bedroom and locked Ethan in his.
At 11:17 p.m., Ethan heard Amanda on the phone in the hallway.
He pressed his ear against the door.
“No,” she whispered. “The device uploaded before I broke it.”
A pause.
“I don't know where.”
Another pause.
May you like
Then Amanda said a name Ethan had never heard before.
“Trent, if Daniel wakes up, we're done.”
