Chapter 1 - The Knock No One Was Supposed to Hear
"Daddy! Mommy's locked in there!"
The six-year-old girl in the pink dress pounded both fists against the ballroom's walnut doors. Wedding music swelled behind her. Crystal chandeliers shone above a hundred smiling guests, and Poppy Ward screamed again, louder this time.
"Mommy! Do our knock!"
Two taps answered from the other side. A pause. Three more.
The bride crossed the carpet so quickly that her veil slipped from one shoulder. "Get away from that door."
"It's my mom," Poppy said. "She knows our secret knock."
Simone Kessler grabbed the child's arm. "I said move."
Poppy twisted toward the sound of her mother's voice. Simone shoved her. The little girl fell backward, her head striking the padded wall before she slid onto the carpet. The room fell silent except for her sharp, frightened crying.
Adrian Ward saw the shove from beneath the floral arch and ran. Seconds later, he was kneeling beside his daughter.
"Poppy. Look at me. Are you hurt?"
"She pushed me, Daddy." Poppy gripped his lapel. "And Mommy's in there. She said she couldn't get out."
Simone held out her hands as if the child had tripped into them. "Adrian, honey, she's worked herself up. She has been doing this for weeks."
"Don't call me honey." His voice shocked even him. "Did you put your hands on her?"
"She was about to ruin our ceremony."
Red marks spread across Poppy's arm. Elise had been missing for thirty-nine days. Her car had been found at a motel, her phone smashed, beside a note claiming she wanted to disappear. Adrian had never believed she'd leave without saying goodbye to Poppy.
Poppy pulled his ear close. "Mommy said not to let the pretty lady take me."
Someone rattled the handle from inside.
Adrian stood. "Open the door. Now."
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Simone's expression changed. It lasted only a heartbeat, but he saw it: not confusion, not annoyance. Fear.
And from behind the heavy wood came a woman's hoarse cry: "Adrian, don't let them take our daughter!"
