Chapter 1: Fifty-One Missed Calls
“You didn’t see my fifty-one calls?””
Danielle’s voice trembled so violently that Marcus stopped halfway through the front door.
He stood on the welcome mat with a suitcase in his right hand, his car keys in his left, and the tired smile of a man who had spent three days away from home. He had imagined dropping his bags, kissing his wife, and finding their ten-year-old daughter, Lily, asleep on the couch with a book open on her chest.
Instead, Danielle stood beside a uniformed police officer.
And on the coffee table between them sat a framed photograph of Lily.
Face down.
Marcus’s smile disappeared.
“Danielle?”” he asked.
“What’s going on?””
She held up her phone. Her eyes were red, her hair was tangled, and the sleeve of her sweatshirt was stretched over one trembling hand.
“Fifty-one calls, Marcus. I called you fifty-one times.””
“I was driving back from Chicago. I stopped for gas, and I—”
“Your phone was on.””
“Yes, but I was in the car.””
“And you didn't answer a single call?””
Marcus glanced at the officer.
“Sir, I don't understand. Is Lily okay?””
The officer didn't answer immediately.
That silence frightened Marcus more than anything Danielle had said.
He dropped his suitcase beside the door.
“Danielle, where's our daughter?””
She pressed her lips together.
“She's with my sister.””
“Why?””
“Because I didn't know if I could trust you.””
The words landed like a slap.
Marcus stared at her.
“What?””
The officer stepped forward.
“Mr. Reed, I'm Officer Harris. We need to ask you a few questions about a message sent to your daughter yesterday afternoon.””
Marcus frowned.
“A message?””
Officer Harris took a small notebook from his pocket.
“Did you send Lily a text message at 4:17 p.m. yesterday?””
“No.””
The answer came so quickly that Danielle flinched.
Officer Harris looked down at his notes.
“The message came from a number associated with your phone. It told Lily to leave the house through the back door and wait near the old playground on Mercer Street.””
Marcus felt the blood drain from his face.
“What?””
Danielle reached for the photograph on the table and turned it toward him.
It showed Lily at her tenth birthday party two weeks earlier. Pink frosting covered one corner of her mouth. Her front tooth was missing, and she was laughing at something outside the frame.
Someone had drawn a red circle around her face.
Marcus took a step toward the table.
“Why is there a circle on Lily's picture?””
“Because I needed the officer to understand which child we were talking about,” Danielle said.
“Danielle, what are you saying?””
She looked at him as if she were searching his face for a stranger hiding underneath the skin.
“Yesterday, Lily told me you wanted her to meet you at the playground.””
“I never told her that.””
“She said you texted her.””
“I didn't.””
“She showed me the message!””
Marcus pulled his phone from his pocket.
His fingers moved clumsily as he unlocked it. He opened his messages, searched Lily's name, and turned the screen toward the officer.
“Look. There's nothing. I haven't texted her since Sunday.””
Officer Harris studied the screen.
“Do you use any other devices linked to this number?””
“My laptop. My tablet. That's it.””
“Who has access to them?””
“Danielle knows the passwords. Lily sometimes uses my tablet to watch cartoons.””
Danielle shook her head.
“Don't do that.””
“Do what?””
“Don't start making this sound like something Lily did.””
“I didn't say she did anything!””
“Then explain why she was standing outside in the rain yesterday, crying because she thought her father had forgotten her.””
Marcus stared at his wife.
For a moment, he couldn't hear anything except the faint hum of the refrigerator.
“Was she hurt?””
“No,” Danielle whispered.
“But she was terrified.””
“Did someone find her at the playground?””
Danielle's eyes filled again.
“A woman did.””
“What woman?””
“I don't know. Lily said she was wearing a beige coat. She told Lily that you had been delayed and that she'd take her somewhere warm until you arrived.””
Marcus's stomach tightened.
“Where did she take her?””
“She didn't. Lily got scared and ran to Mrs. Collins's house. Our neighbor brought her home.””
He closed his eyes.
Lily had run through the rain alone.
His little girl, who still left the hallway light on because she didn't like the dark.
“Why didn't you call the police immediately?”” he asked.
“I did.””
“Then why are you looking at me like I'm the criminal?””
Danielle's face hardened.
“Because the message came from your number, Marcus!””
Officer Harris raised one hand.
“Let's slow down. Mr. Reed, where were you yesterday at 4:17 p.m.?””
“On the interstate. I can show you my hotel receipt, my toll records, everything.””
“Can anyone confirm that?””
“My business partner. We drove to Chicago together, but he flew back early. I stayed to finish a contract.””
“Who knew you would be away?””
“Everyone at the office. My wife. My assistant.””
The officer's pen stopped moving.
“Your assistant?””
“Vanessa Cole. She handles my calendar and some of my personal appointments.””
Danielle turned sharply.
“Vanessa?””
Marcus looked between them.
“What?””
“Your assistant's name is Vanessa Cole?””
“Yes. You've met her twice.””
Danielle took a step backward.
“No,” she whispered.
“No, that can't be right.””
Officer Harris noticed the change in her expression.
“Mrs. Reed, do you know someone named Vanessa Cole?””
Danielle didn't answer.
She picked up her phone, tapped the screen, and opened a photograph. Then she held it out to the officer.
It showed a woman with dark hair standing beside a little girl in a yellow dress.
The girl was Lily.
Marcus recognized the yellow dress immediately. Lily had worn it to a school concert the previous spring.
But the woman standing beside her wasn't Danielle.
It wasn't Lily's teacher.
And Marcus had never seen her in his life.
“Where did you get that?”” he asked.
Danielle's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Lily took it from your office.””
“My office?””
“She said the woman in the picture had asked about her birthday. She wanted to know how old Lily was going to be.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Vanessa's never been to my office when Lily was there.””
Officer Harris examined the picture.
“Do you know when this was taken?””
“About three weeks ago,” Danielle said.
“Lily said the woman gave her a little silver bracelet and told her not to mention it because it was a surprise.””
Marcus felt something cold move through his chest.
Vanessa had been his assistant for nearly two years. She knew his schedule, his business accounts, and the security codes for the office.
But she had never mentioned Lily.
Not once.
He looked at the photograph again.
The woman was smiling at the camera.
Lily wasn't.
His daughter was staring at something just outside the frame, her small hand wrapped tightly around the woman's wrist.
“Marcus,” Danielle said quietly, “there's something else you need to know.””
He looked up.
“What?””
“Lily said the woman knew her birthday before she ever told her.””
Officer Harris slowly closed his notebook.
Then he turned toward Marcus.
“Mr. Reed, I need you to answer one question honestly.””
Marcus swallowed.
“Ask me.””
The officer looked at the photograph one more time.
“Why would your assistant know your daughter's birthday?””
Marcus opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because the truth was, Vanessa had never met Lily.
At least, that was what he had always believed.
Then his phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
*Stop looking for the woman in the photograph. Ask your wife what happened ten years ago.*
Marcus read it twice.
May you like
When he lifted his eyes, Danielle had gone completely white.
And for the first time since he'd walked through the door, she looked more frightened of the message than she was of him.
