Chapter 2 - THE DOOR BEHIND THE FREEZER
The basement was unfinished.
Concrete floor.
Laundry area.
Old furnace.
A chest freezer Evan bought two years earlier.
Madison had not been downstairs in months.
Pregnancy made the stairs difficult.
Now, holding Sophie against her chest, she stood at the top and stared.
Do not go down.
That was the sensible thought.
She went anyway.
Slowly.
One hand on the railing.
The freezer sat where it always had.
But behind it, partly hidden by shelving, was a narrow interior door.
Madison stopped.
She remembered the wall being solid.
Maybe she remembered wrong.
Evan renovated the utility area the previous year.
Said he was adding storage.
She had never checked.
The key fit.
Madison’s heart began pounding.
Then Sophie cried.
Madison froze.
Bad idea.
She locked the door again.
Went upstairs.
She would ask Evan.
No.
She would ask someone else first.
Her sister Claire lived twenty minutes away.
Madison texted:
CAN YOU COME OVER?
No explanation.
Claire replied:
ON MY WAY.
Then a car stopped outside.
Not Claire.
Police.
Two cruisers.
An unmarked sedan.
Madison stared through the window.
Evan came running from the upstairs office.
His face drained.
“Why are they here?”
“I don’t know.”
He grabbed her shoulder.
Too hard.
“Madison, listen to me.”
Fear shot through her.
“What?”
“Do not say anything.”
“What did you do?”
A pounding came at the front door.
“POLICE.”
Sophie started crying.
Evan whispered:
“Whatever happens, say you need a lawyer.”
Madison stared.
“What happens?”
He let go.
Then stepped back.
The door opened before either reached it.
Police entered under a warrant.
Detective Sofia Ramirez led.
Dark professional suit.
Badge.
Cold expression.
“Madison Harper?”
“Yes.”
“We need you to step outside.”
“Why?”
“Now.”
Evan shouted:
“She just had a baby.”
Ramirez looked at him.
“We know.”
That sentence terrified Madison.
Outside, Officer Reed took her arm.
Madison screamed when he placed her in handcuffs.
“WHAT THE HELL!”
Sophie cried.
Another officer carefully took the baby beside her under Ramirez’s direction.
Madison panicked.
“Give me my daughter! What did I do?!”
Ramirez stepped closer.
“Ask your husband.”
Madison froze.
Then officers brought Evan out in handcuffs.
He saw her.
Completely lost control.
“MADISON! SAY NOTHING!”
Madison struggled against the cuffs.
“Evan! WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
He looked terrified.
Not angry.
Terrified.
The front door opened behind him.
Two investigators emerged from the basement.
Then a gurney.
Covered.
Madison’s knees nearly buckled.
Ramirez watched her carefully.
“We found this in your basement.”
Madison shook her head.
“No.”
Then Ramirez raised a clear evidence bag.
Inside:
documents,
a driver’s license,
a passport,
several bank cards.
All carried one name.
Madison Harper.
Ramirez stepped directly in front of her.
“And everything is in your name.”
Madison went pale.
Then the sheet on the gurney shifted slightly as it crossed the driveway.
A woman’s hand briefly became visible before an officer covered it again.
On the wrist was a bracelet.
Madison knew it.
She had given it to someone years ago.
May you like
A college roommate named Natalie Cross.
A woman Madison had not seen in four years.
