Chapter 2 - The Man at the Door"Don't move," Trent ordered, but he was talking to his family, not me.

A beam of light swept through the dark hallway. Somebody tried the front door again. The deadbolt held.

"County sheriff's office," the voice announced. "Open up."

Helen was first to recover. "We have a power outage. That's hardly a police matter."

"We received a distress call from this address."

Trent swung toward me. I pressed my palm over the phone. He had no idea my emergency alert carried our location. He certainly didn't know it included an audio clip I had started before he entered our bedroom.

"Tell them you're fine," he hissed.

"I'm not fine."

His hand closed around my wrist. I cried out, and the knocking stopped.

"Ma'am?" the deputy called. "Are you injured?"

"I'm pregnant!" I shouted. "Please come in!"

Trent lunged for the door just as a key turned from outside. Not a forced entry. A key.

The door opened, revealing a uniformed deputy with a flashlight and a broad-shouldered man in a canvas jacket behind him. Deputy Owen Mercer was in his forties, with watchful eyes. Beside him stood our neighbor, Mrs. Alvarez's grandson, the electrician hired to service the street transformer. He held a metal utility case.

Trent found his voice. "You can't enter my property."

"Your wife requested emergency help," Mercer said. "Step away from her."

The deputy's light crossed the stick, my bare feet, and the phone clutched to my nightgown. His expression changed.

"Put that down. Now."

Trent set the stick against a cabinet with exaggerated care. "My wife had a panic attack. She's hormonal."

"And you brought a walking stick to comfort her?" Mercer asked.

Helen stepped between them. "Our family attorney—"

"Can wait."

Mercer crouched at my side without touching me. "Emily, do you want medical assistance?"

I nodded. Speaking suddenly seemed difficult. "My daughter hasn't kicked since he pulled me out of bed."

The deputy keyed his radio. Trent's confident face crumpled for the first time.

"This is ridiculous," Nicole snapped. "I have the whole thing on video."

"Good," Mercer said, holding out his hand. "Keep that phone available."

Nicole's gaze darted to Trent. She tapped her screen twice. A soft deletion chime sounded.

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Mercer heard it. So did I.

"Ma'am," he said, "what did you just erase?"