For several seconds Rachel and I remained in darkness, listening to the stranger move inside my bedroom. A drawer slid open. Something bumped softly against the wall. Then came the unmistakable rustle of bedding.<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s fingernails dug into my wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her speech was clearer than before, but her balance was still poor. Whatever she had swallowed had not knocked her unconscious. Perhaps she had taken too little. Perhaps Gerald had misjudged the dose. Neither possibility made me feel safer.<\/p>\n
I unlocked my phone and checked the recorder.<\/p>\n
Still running.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay here,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can barely walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re going toward a strange man in your bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel pushed herself upright.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
We moved into the hallway.<\/p>\n
My bedroom door stood partly open.<\/p>\n
Light from the nightstand spilled through the gap.<\/p>\n
A shadow crossed it.<\/p>\n
I could hear a man breathing.<\/p>\n
Then Gerald appeared at the far end of the corridor.<\/p>\n
Rachel and I ducked into the alcove beside the linen closet before he saw us.<\/p>\n
Gerald approached my room without hesitation.<\/p>\n
He knocked once against the open door.<\/p>\n
The stranger whispered, \u201cShe\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
Gerald stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bed\u2019s empty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerald entered the room.<\/p>\n
Rachel pressed her forehead against the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d Gerald hissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were supposed to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you touch anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nightgown.\u201d<\/p>\n
My nightgown.<\/p>\n
I suddenly remembered the blue silk one folded inside the second drawer of my dresser.<\/p>\n
Gerald cursed under his breath.<\/p>\n
Then the stranger asked, \u201cWhere\u2019s the phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said there\u2019d be pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel turned toward me.<\/p>\n
Even in the darkness I saw horror spread across her face.<\/p>\n
Pictures.<\/p>\n
A stranger.<\/p>\n
My bedroom.<\/p>\n
Gabriel returning early.<\/p>\n
The plan stopped being vague.<\/p>\n
Gerald had not needed me dead.<\/p>\n
He needed me unable to explain what Gabriel was about to see.<\/p>\n
Rachel covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
I leaned close to her ear. \u201cGo downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFind out what Dad has.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want me to leave you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need evidence before Gabriel arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already heard them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGerald will deny it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always does,\u201d Rachel whispered.<\/p>\n
There was history inside those words.<\/p>\n
She moved carefully toward the staircase.<\/p>\n
I stayed behind.<\/p>\n
Inside my room, Gerald said, \u201cGet under the blanket if you have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stranger gave a nervous laugh. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe deal was that my son walks in and sees enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerald was silent.<\/p>\n
The man repeated, \u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can\u2019t have gone far.\u201d<\/p>\n
I backed away.<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Gabriel had sent another message.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes.<\/p>\n
I wanted to scream.<\/p>\n
Instead, I typed: When you arrive, do not believe the first thing you see.<\/p>\n
I stared at the message.<\/p>\n
Then sent it.<\/p>\n
Almost immediately the status changed to read.<\/p>\n
No reply came.<\/p>\n
I heard Gerald leave my bedroom.<\/p>\n
There was nowhere nearby to hide except the bathroom, so I slipped inside and locked the door.<\/p>\n
Gerald\u2019s footsteps stopped outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe?\u201d<\/p>\n
I remained silent.<\/p>\n
He tried the handle.<\/p>\n
My phone was still recording.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe, open the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
His voice became softer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019re frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gentleness was worse than anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what Rachel told you, but she\u2019s confused. She drank something she shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something she shouldn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n
Another admission, buried inside concern.<\/p>\n
I kept quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel is coming home,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou don\u2019t want him arriving to find you behaving irrationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not only the trap.<\/p>\n
The story Gerald intended to tell afterward.<\/p>\n
If I resisted, I was irrational.<\/p>\n
If I was unconscious, I was guilty.<\/p>\n
If I woke confused, I was unstable.<\/p>\n
Every route had been prepared except one: me knowing about the trap before it closed.<\/p>\n
Gerald tried the handle again.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped backward.<\/p>\n
Then Rachel screamed downstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad!\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerald turned immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be sick!\u201d<\/p>\n
His footsteps hurried away.<\/p>\n
I unlocked the bathroom door and slipped out.<\/p>\n
Rachel had created the distraction deliberately. I knew because her scream stopped as soon as Gerald reached the stairs.<\/p>\n
I crossed the hallway toward the back staircase.<\/p>\n
Halfway down, I heard Gerald speaking sharply to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUpstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see Chloe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She lied smoothly.<\/p>\n
I almost smiled despite everything.<\/p>\n
I reached the first floor and moved toward Gerald\u2019s study.<\/p>\n
The door was open.<\/p>\n
Rachel had told me she heard him talking from there earlier. If he had planned tonight, something might still be inside.<\/p>\n
The study smelled of leather, paper, and Gerald\u2019s cedar cologne. His desk was obsessively neat. A fountain pen lay parallel to a legal pad. Three family photographs stood at identical angles.<\/p>\n
I started with the drawers.<\/p>\n
Locked.<\/p>\n
The cabinet behind the desk was locked too.<\/p>\n
I checked the wastebasket.<\/p>\n
Empty.<\/p>\n
Then I noticed one drawer had not closed completely.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Rachel had already opened it.<\/p>\n
I pulled it toward me.<\/p>\n
Inside were white envelopes.<\/p>\n
At least eight.<\/p>\n
Each had a name handwritten across the front.<\/p>\n
Gabriel.<\/p>\n
Rachel.<\/p>\n
Chloe.<\/p>\n
My fingers went cold.<\/p>\n
I took mine.<\/p>\n
Something small shifted inside.<\/p>\n
Before I could open it, I heard voices approaching.<\/p>\n
I slipped behind the study door.<\/p>\n
Gerald entered with Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re staying downstairs where I can see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need water.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not five.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight you\u2019re acting like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel stumbled against the desk.<\/p>\n
Her elbow struck the drawer.<\/p>\n
It slid farther open.<\/p>\n
Gerald saw it.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you open this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grabbed her wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, you\u2019re hurting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost stepped out.<\/p>\n
Then Gerald released her.<\/p>\n
He slammed the drawer shut and locked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo to the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel obeyed.<\/p>\n
Gerald remained in the study.<\/p>\n
I was trapped behind the door.<\/p>\n
He picked up his phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Something went wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe isn\u2019t where she should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse hammered.<\/p>\n
Then Gerald said the sentence I would replay many times afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cGabriel cannot see her awake before he sees the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
The person on the other end said something.<\/p>\n
Gerald answered, \u201cI know what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ended the call.<\/p>\n
For perhaps ten seconds he stood completely still.<\/p>\n
Then he left.<\/p>\n
I waited until his footsteps disappeared.<\/p>\n
Rachel slipped back into the study almost immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou heard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noticed the envelope in my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside was a folded receipt, a small sealed packet containing white powder, and a piece of paper.<\/p>\n
Across the top, Gerald had written my name and one word.<\/p>\n
MIDNIGHT.<\/p>\n
Below were three short instructions.<\/p>\n
Drink.<\/p>\n
Sleep.<\/p>\n
Find her.<\/p>\n
Rachel sank into Gerald\u2019s desk chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n
I photographed everything.<\/p>\n
Then Rachel reached into the drawer, which Gerald had apparently failed to relock properly in his hurry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pulled out another envelope.<\/p>\n
Photographs spilled across the desk.<\/p>\n
Me standing at the kitchen sink.<\/p>\n
Me walking toward my car.<\/p>\n
Me in the driveway speaking to a delivery driver.<\/p>\n
Me in the upstairs hallway.<\/p>\n
Every photograph had been taken on Lawson property.<\/p>\n
Someone had been watching me for weeks.<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s hands began trembling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened it anyway.<\/p>\n
Whatever she saw drained the remaining color from her face.<\/p>\n
Before I could ask, headlights swept across the study windows.<\/p>\n
A car turned into the driveway.<\/p>\n
Rachel looked toward the glass.<\/p>\n
I knew the headlights.<\/p>\n
Gabriel.<\/p>\n
My husband was home.<\/p>\n
Upstairs, a stranger was waiting in my bedroom with my nightgown and a camera.<\/p>\n
Downstairs, Gerald had built a file documenting my movements.<\/p>\n
And Gabriel was walking directly into the scene his father had prepared for him.<\/p>\n
For several seconds Rachel and I remained in darkness, listening to the stranger move inside my bedroom. A drawer slid open. Something bumped softly against the wall. Then came the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29418,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29383\/revisions\/29418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}