Chapter 2 - The Woman in Green

For a second, Claire heard only her pulse.

"What does she mean?" she asked Ethan.

He stared at their seven-year-old daughter on the screen. "I don't know."

Margaret moved toward the desk. "Turn that off."

"Don't touch it," Claire snapped.

A hand jerked Ellie out of sight. The screen went black.

Claire lunged at Margaret. Ethan caught her around the waist.

"Tell her!" Claire shouted. "Tell her what your mother did!"

"I swear I didn't know about this," Ethan said, his breath shaking.

"You knew she was missing. You said she'd gone home with your driver."

"That's what I was told."

Outside, the alarm screamed. Heavy steps pounded toward the office. Margaret smoothed the front of her jacket, becoming a respectable businesswoman again in three quick motions.

Two security guards entered. Their boss followed: Damon Pike, broad-shouldered, bald, wearing a black suit and the expression of a man who enjoyed being feared.

"Mrs. Vale?" he said.

Margaret pointed at Claire. "She assaulted me and triggered the alarm. Detain her."

"There was a child on that screen," Claire said. "My daughter. You need to call the police."

Pike didn't even glance at the screen. "We'll handle it internally."

Claire knew then. The danger wasn't only Margaret. It was everybody who worked for her.

A guard reached for Claire's wrist. Ethan stepped in front of him.

"She's my wife," he said. "Nobody touches her."

"Then control her," Pike replied.

Through the glass wall Claire could see the elevators filling with fleeing guests. A fire engine's distant siren threaded through the city noise. Real responders were coming. That was why she had pushed the button.

Pike lowered his voice. "The system will reset in sixty seconds. After that, no one outside this room needs to know what happened."

Ethan slipped his hand into Claire's. An old gesture, gentle enough to make her want to cry.

His fingers pressed something small and sharp into her palm: a brass key.

"Service stairs," he whispered. "Blue door. Twenty feet left."

"Why should I trust you?"

His eyes filled. "You shouldn't. But if you stay here, you'll never see her again."

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Margaret's phone vibrated. She read the screen and went pale.

"Damon," she said, "the driver says the girl is gone."