Chapter 2: The Dates She Wrote Down Because She Was Scared
Douglas yanked the door again.
Then again.
The glass shuddered in its frame.
"Open this door right now." His voice came through the glass, smooth and controlled.
Not panicked.
Not worried.
The voice of a man who expected to be obeyed.
Charlotte pressed herself flat against the back of the desk.
She had both arms wrapped around Delilah, who had stopped crying and gone very still.
Terrence didn't move toward the door.
Douglas cupped one hand against the glass and looked in.
When he spotted Terrence standing behind the counter, his expression shifted into something that almost looked like relief.
"Officer, thank God.
I've been looking everywhere for them.
They ran off after their medication — my youngest has a condition, she needs monitoring.
Please, just let me take them home."
Terrence said nothing.
Douglas tried again, softer this time.
"I'm a physician.
I can explain everything.
Just open the door."
That was when Charlotte spoke.
"He said that last time too," she whispered.
"Before Delilah got worse."
Terrence looked down at her.
"Last time?" he asked quietly.
Charlotte nodded.
She reached into the front pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"I wrote down the dates," she said.
"Because I was scared no one would believe me."
Terrence took the paper carefully.
It wasn't blank.
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It was covered in a child's handwriting — seven dates, going back four months.
Outside, Douglas had his phone to his ear again.
