Chapter 2 - THE LOCKED ROOM
Ethan caught Wade before he reached the foyer.
He closed one hand around the back of Wade’s tuxedo and pulled him away from the door.
“Where is the key?”
Wade twisted.
“Get off me.”
“Where is it?”
Diane stood beside the wedding table, unable to move.
Her white reception dress seemed too bright for the room.
“I thought Tommy was with Rebecca.”
Wade’s eyes shifted toward her.
“He is.”
Ava raised her voice.
“No, he is not.”
Wade’s father, Harold Mercer, stepped between them.
“Everyone needs to calm down.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Your grandson is behind a locked door.”
“You do not know that.”
“I saw the photographs.”
“Children make things up.”
Ava flinched.
Ethan released Wade only long enough to reach for the police paperwork on the side table.
He had noticed it earlier but assumed it related to the noise complaint from the wedding reception.
Now he saw the heading.
Temporary Custody Enforcement Notice.
The document named Wade Mercer.
It stated that Tommy’s mother, Rebecca Lane, had reported the child missing two days earlier.
Ethan looked at Diane.
“Did you know about this?”
She shook her head.
Wade lunged for the paperwork.
Ethan pulled it away.
“Who brought this?”
“No one.”
“It did not walk in.”
Harold answered.
“A deputy stopped by.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“And the wedding continued?”
Harold’s face tightened.
“This was a private family misunderstanding.”
Ethan looked at Ava.
“How did you get the phone?”
Ava wiped one cheek with the back of her hand.
“Tommy texted me.”
The room changed again.
“He had an old phone hidden under the mattress,” she said. “He found my number from a school group chat.”
Wade stared at her.
“You told her?”
Ava lifted her chin.
“He was scared.”
Diane finally moved.
She crossed toward the stairs.
Wade blocked her.
“Do not go up there.”
She looked at him.
The bride.
The groom.
Four hours into marriage.
“Move.”
“Diane, you do not understand.”
“Then explain.”
Wade lowered his voice.
“Tommy is having behavioral episodes.”
“Is he upstairs?”
“He is safer alone.”
Diane’s expression broke.
“You locked your son in a room during our wedding?”
“He attacked me.”
Ava spoke from behind Ethan.
“He said you hit him first.”
Wade turned.
“You little liar.”
Ethan stepped between them again.
Wade stopped.
“Key,” Ethan said.
Wade looked toward his father.
Harold’s hand moved toward his jacket pocket.
Ethan saw it.
“So you have it.”
Harold’s face became pale.
“It is not that simple.”
Ethan reached out.
“Give it to me.”
Harold hesitated.
Then a sound came from upstairs.
Three dull knocks.
A pause.
Then two more.
Ava’s face changed.
“That is him.”
She ran toward the stairs.
Ethan followed.
Wade tried to grab her again.
Diane shoved him away.
The movement surprised everyone, including her.
“Do not touch her.”
Ethan and Ava reached the second floor.
The hallway had been decorated with white ribbon and small flower arrangements.
At the far end stood a closed door.
A chair had been wedged beneath the handle from the outside.
Ethan stopped.
The lock was not the only thing keeping Tommy in.
Someone had barricaded the door.
He removed the chair.
“Tommy?”
Silence.
Then a weak voice.
“Ava?”
“I am here,” she said.
Ethan tried the handle.
Locked.
Harold and Wade reached the top of the stairs behind them.
Harold held the key.
Ethan turned.
“Now.”
Harold did not move.
Wade grabbed his father’s wrist.
“No.”
Diane appeared behind them.
“Give him the key.”
Wade stared at his new wife.
“If that door opens, everything is over.”
Diane’s eyes filled with horror.
“What did you do?”
From inside the room came the sound of something falling.
Then no sound at all.
May you like
Ethan stepped toward Harold.
The old man released the key.
