Chapter 4: The Locked Door
Leah grabbed Ava's hand and pulled her toward the grocery store.
“Stay beside me,” she said.
Ava's fingers were ice-cold.
“Where's Daniel?””
“Inside.””
They pushed through the door.
The bell above them gave a cheerful little jingle that felt completely wrong.
The store looked exactly as it always did.
Fluorescent lights.
Narrow aisles.
Stacked cereal boxes.
A freezer humming near the back wall.
But Daniel was nowhere in sight.
“Daniel?”” Leah called.
No answer.
Ava looked toward the checkout counter.
“He went that way.””
Leah followed her gaze.
Aisle six.
The storage door.
It was slightly open.
Leah's pulse jumped.
“Stay here.””
Ava shook her head.
“No.””
“Ava, please.””
“He told me never to let him go alone.””
Leah stared at her.
“Who?””
“My dad.””
The words hit harder than they should have.
Leah pushed open the storage door.
“Daniel?””
The room was empty.
Boxes of canned goods were stacked against one wall. Cleaning supplies sat on a metal shelf. A small desk held invoices and delivery receipts.
The back exit stood open.
Cold air moved through the room.
Leah rushed outside.
The alley behind the store was empty.
“Daniel!””
Nothing.
Ava appeared beside her.
“He's gone.””
Leah spun around.
“Don't scare me like that.””
“He's not gone.””
“What?””
Ava pointed toward the ground.
Near the back door lay Daniel's phone.
The screen was cracked.
Leah picked it up.
There was one new notification.
*UNKNOWN: You should have left the girl alone.*
Leah's breath caught.
She showed Ava.
The girl didn't look surprised.
“My mom said they would come.””
“Who?””
Ava looked toward the alley entrance.
“The people who took her.””
Leah crouched.
“Listen to me. You're safe with me.””
Ava shook her head.
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Because they know where you work.””
Before Leah could answer, the phone buzzed again.
A photograph appeared.
Leah opened it.
Her face went cold.
It showed the front of the grocery store.
Taken from across the street.
Ava was visible in the frame.
Leah was beside her.
And in the corner of the photograph, reflected in the grocery store window, stood Daniel.
Except the picture had been taken thirty seconds earlier.
Daniel was supposed to be inside.
Leah stared at the image.
“That's impossible.””
Ava whispered, “He was watching us.””
“No. Look.””
Leah zoomed in.
Daniel wasn't looking at them.
He was looking behind them.
At someone standing just outside the frame.
The phone buzzed again.
*UNKNOWN: Ask Daniel about Room 314.*
Leah's eyes narrowed.
“Room 314?””
Ava looked up.
“I know that number.””
“From where?””
“My mom's notebook.””
Leah's heart pounded.
“Where is the notebook?””
Ava reached into her hoodie.
She pulled out a small black spiral notebook.
Leah stared.
“You had that the whole time?””
Ava nodded.
“She said not to open it unless Daddy found me.””
“And now?””
Ava looked at the empty alley.
“He found me.””
Leah took the notebook.
The first pages were filled with childish drawings.
Then the handwriting changed.
Adult handwriting.
Names.
Dates.
Hospital room numbers.
Payments.
Addresses.
Leah flipped faster.
Then she stopped.
A page near the middle contained one sentence written over and over:
*Daniel was not told the truth.*
Underneath it:
*Room 314 — Mercy Hospital — 11:40 PM.*
Leah whispered, “Mercy Hospital.””
Ava nodded.
“My mom said that's where everything started.””
A car engine roared somewhere beyond the alley.
Leah looked up.
A black SUV rolled past the entrance.
Slowly.
Too slowly.
The passenger window lowered.
Leah grabbed Ava and pulled her behind a stack of delivery crates.
A man looked toward them.
He didn't speak.
He simply smiled.
Then the SUV continued down the street.
Ava's breathing became fast.
“That's him.””
“Who?””
“The man from the hospital.””
Leah waited until the vehicle disappeared.
“Are you sure?””
Ava nodded.
“He was there when Mommy disappeared.””
Leah looked at the notebook again.
Room 314.
A missing mother.
A supposedly dead baby.
A man following them.
And Daniel had vanished.
She called his number.
Straight to voicemail.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Then a different phone began ringing.
Not Daniel's.
Ava's.
The sound came from inside her hoodie.
Leah stared at her.
“You have another phone?””
Ava slowly pulled out a tiny pink flip phone.
The screen showed one word.
*MOM.*
Ava didn't answer.
Leah's voice dropped.
“Ava…”
The phone kept ringing.
Finally, the girl pressed the green button.
Neither spoke.
A woman's breathing came through the speaker.
Then a whisper.
“Ava?””
Ava's eyes filled with tears.
“Mommy?””
Leah covered her mouth.
The woman spoke quickly.
“Listen to me. You have to leave the store.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Mommy, Daddy found me.””
Silence.
Then the woman's voice broke.
“No.””
Ava frowned.
“Why?””
“Because if Daniel found you, they found you too.””
Leah leaned toward the phone.
“Who are you?””
The woman inhaled sharply.
Then she whispered:
“Leah, don't trust Daniel.””
The call ended.
Leah stared at the phone.
Ava stared at her.
Neither moved.
Then, from inside the grocery store, something crashed.
A heavy metal sound.
Leah grabbed Ava's hand.
They ran toward the noise.
At the end of aisle six, the storage door was swinging open.
Daniel stood inside.
Blood ran from his forehead.
He looked at Leah.
Then at Ava.
May you like
And said only three words.
“She's alive.””
