Chapter 4
Lily’s lip quivered. “I asked if we could go to the toy store now. But she said I was being whiny. She brought me down here. She pointed at the pillar. She said, ‘If you can’t be a good girl, wait right here. Do not move an inch until I come back.’ I stayed, Mommy. The scary van came, and the man talked to me, but I didn’t run away. I stayed exactly where she told me.”
David froze. The relief that had flooded his face just seconds ago evaporated, replaced by an expression of pure, unadulterated horror.
I looked up at my husband over the trembling head of our child. A dark, dangerous realization passed between us. Eleanor hadn’t lost Lily in a crowd. She hadn’t turned her back at a pretzel stand.
She had marched a six-year-old child down into a deserted, subterranean wasteland, without cellular service, knowing full well it was isolated. And she had left her there. For almost five hours.
May you like
David stood up, his eyes locking onto a security camera mounted above the VIP parking section. A small, red light blinked steadily in the dimness.
“Take her to the car, Emily,” David said. The timber of his voice was terrifyingly calm. It was the sound of a bomb ticking down its final seconds. “I’m going up to the security office. I’m getting that footage. And then, we are going to dinner.”
