Chapter 2 - The Woman Behind the Door

I stood so fast I nearly lost my balance.

Lily clung to me, still trembling.

The interior door opened three inches.

Then five.

"Who's there?" I shouted.

No answer.

I shifted Lily behind my shoulder and stepped closer.

The door swung open.

Evelyn stood in the kitchen wearing a cream cardigan and house slippers, holding a mug like she'd been interrupted during a quiet evening.

She looked at Lily.

Then at the freezer.

Then at me.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

I stared at her.

"What am I doing here?"

"Taylor said tomorrow."

"Lily was inside that freezer."

Evelyn's expression barely changed.

"Don't be dramatic, Ben."

I actually laughed once because my brain couldn't process what she'd said.

"Dramatic?"

"She wasn't in there long."

Lily buried her face against my shoulder.

My hands went cold for a completely different reason.

"You put her in there?"

"She needed to calm down."

"You locked my daughter in a freezer to calm her down?"

"It wasn't locked."

"She couldn't lift the lid!"

Evelyn set her mug on the counter.

"Lower your voice. You're frightening her."

I pulled my phone out.

"I'm calling 911."

For the first time, she moved quickly.

"Don't."

That one word changed everything.

People who think they've done nothing wrong usually tell you to call whoever you want.

Evelyn stepped toward me.

"Ben, think before you turn this into something it isn't."

"Tell me what it is."

"Lily had a tantrum. She threw a plate. She called me names. I told her to sit in the garage until she could behave."

Lily lifted her face.

"That's not true."

Evelyn looked at her sharply.

Lily flinched.

I felt that flinch in my bones.

"What happened?" I asked Lily.

She whispered, "I was looking for Mom's phone."

Evelyn's face changed.

Not much.

Just enough.

"Why were you looking for Taylor's phone?"

Lily's lips trembled.

"Because Grandma told Mom she deleted the video."

I looked at Evelyn.

"What video?"

Lily pointed toward the hallway.

"The one from the kitchen camera."

Evelyn reached for my phone.

I stepped back.

"Don't touch me."

Then headlights swept across the open garage door.

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A vehicle turned into the driveway.

Taylor was home.