Chapter 6: The Key
Marcus stared at Vanessa's purse.
The store suddenly felt too bright.
Too public.
Too ordinary.
His daughter had just told him someone was crying behind a locked door in his own house.
And Vanessa was standing there pretending it was nothing.
“Give me the key.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“There is no key.””
Maya whispered, “There is.””
Marcus didn't take his eyes off Vanessa.
“Open your purse.””
“No.””
“Vanessa.””
“You're embarrassing me.””
“I don't care.””
People were beginning to watch.
A store employee approached cautiously.
“Sir, is everything okay?””
Marcus looked at him.
“No.””
Vanessa snapped, “We're fine.””
Marcus turned back.
“Open it.””
Vanessa clutched the purse against her chest.
“I said no.””
Marcus took a step forward.
“Then tell me what you keep locked upstairs.””
“Nothing.””
“Maya says she heard someone crying.””
“She imagined it.””
“Maya doesn't imagine things like that.””
“She has an active imagination.””
Marcus looked at his daughter.
“Maya, when did you hear it?””
“Three nights ago.””
Vanessa interrupted.
“She was half asleep.””
Maya shook her head.
“I was awake.””
“What did you hear?””
“Someone saying, ‘Please let me out.’”
Marcus's face went still.
Vanessa whispered, “She's lying.””
Maya looked at her father.
“I heard it.””
“What did you do?””
“I went upstairs.””
“Then?””
“The door was locked.””
“Did you tell Vanessa?””
Maya nodded.
“What did she say?””
Maya looked toward Vanessa.
“She told me if I touched the door, I'd be sorry.””
Marcus slowly turned.
“Did you say that?””
Vanessa's silence answered.
Marcus extended his hand.
“Key.””
Vanessa stepped backward.
“No.””
He didn't move.
“Key.””
“You don't get to order me around.””
“You're standing in a store while my daughter tells me she heard someone trapped in our house.””
“No one is trapped.””
“Then open the door.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You're not thinking clearly.””
Marcus laughed once.
“You're right.””
He pointed toward Maya.
“I should have thought clearly months ago.””
Vanessa's voice became desperate.
“Marcus, please.””
That word stopped him.
Not because it softened him.
Because it confirmed something.
She was afraid.
Marcus held out his hand again.
“Give me the key.””
Vanessa's fingers trembled.
She opened her purse.
Maya watched.
Vanessa pulled out a ring of keys.
Marcus saw the smallest one.
Brass.
Old.
Different from the others.
He reached for it.
Vanessa pulled back.
“No.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Why?””
“I can explain.””
“Explain.””
She couldn't.
Maya stepped closer.
“That one.””
Marcus looked down.
“The brass one?””
She nodded.
“That opens the door.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Marcus took the key.
Then he looked at his daughter.
“We're going home.””
Vanessa immediately said, “No.””
Marcus turned.
“You just told me there's nothing to hide.””
“I said it's complicated.””
“Good.””
He pocketed the key.
“Then we'll complicate it together.””
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“Marcus, listen to me.””
He pulled away.
“No more.””
“You don't understand.””
“I understand enough.””
“Please.””
“Who is in that room?””
Vanessa stared at him.
“No one.””
Maya whispered, “Then why does the room smell like medicine?””
Marcus looked at her.
“Medicine?””
Maya nodded.
“And why did I hear a man's voice?””
Vanessa's face went completely white.
Marcus stared.
“A man's voice?””
Maya nodded.
“He said your name.””
Marcus felt a chill run through him.
“My name?””
“He said, ‘Marcus doesn't know.’”
Vanessa's eyes filled with panic.
Marcus stepped toward her.
“Who was in that room?””
“I don't know.””
“You just said nobody.””
“I meant—”
“Who?””
Vanessa's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Marcus turned toward the exit.
“Let's go.””
Vanessa grabbed her purse.
“You can't just leave with her.””
Marcus looked over his shoulder.
“Watch me.””
Maya took his hand.
They walked toward the doors.
Vanessa followed.
“Marcus!””
He kept walking.
“Marcus, if you take her, you're going to make everything worse.””
He stopped.
Slowly, he turned.
“Worse for who?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Marcus looked at Maya.
Then at the key in his pocket.
He had spent months believing his daughter was simply becoming quieter.
Now he wondered how much silence could fit inside one little girl.
They reached the parking lot.
Maya climbed into the back seat.
Marcus closed her door.
Vanessa stood beside her car.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she called out.
“You really want to open that door?””
Marcus turned.
“Yes.””
“You don't know what you'll find.””
“That's the point.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“You might hate me.””
Marcus stared at her.
“I already do.””
He got into the driver's seat.
Maya buckled herself in.
Marcus started the engine.
As they pulled away, Maya looked through the rear window.
Vanessa remained in the parking lot.
She wasn't angry anymore.
She looked terrified.
Maya turned toward her father.
“Dad?””
“Yeah?””
“There's something else.””
Marcus glanced at her in the mirror.
“What?””
Maya's voice shook.
“The person in the room…”
She paused.
Marcus waited.
“He wasn't asking to be let out.””
Marcus's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“What do you mean?””
Maya stared out the window.
“He was telling me to run.””
Marcus's heart slammed against his ribs.
“Why?””
Maya reached into the pocket of her oversized shirt.
Her fingers closed around something.
Then she slowly placed it on the seat beside her.
A photograph.
Marcus glanced at it.
His face changed.
Because the man in the photograph was standing beside Vanessa.
And Marcus knew him.
He had seen that man before.
Inside their house.
Three weeks ago.
When Vanessa told Marcus he was a plumber.
Marcus pulled the car to the side of the road.
He picked up the photograph.
“Where did you get this?””
Maya looked at him.
“From under the locked door.””
Marcus turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
Four words.
*ASK VANESSA ABOUT NOAH.*
Marcus looked toward the road.
Then back at his daughter.
May you like
For the first time, he wasn't wondering what Vanessa had done to Maya.
He was wondering what Vanessa had been hiding about her own son.
