Chapter 1 - The Call at 2:07 A.M.
I was seventy-one years old, and I had reached the age when late-night phone calls never brought good news.
At 2:07 on Saturday morning, the old landline beside my bed began to ring.
I woke immediately.
My wife, Margaret, had passed away four years earlier, but I still slept on my side of the bed. Her pillow remained beside mine, untouched except when I changed the sheets.
The phone rang again.
I reached for it.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, all I heard was breathing.
Then a small voice whispered, “Grandpa?”
I sat upright.
“Mia?”
“Please don’t be mad.”
Every trace of sleep left me.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“Daddy said not to call.”
I switched on the bedside lamp.
“Where is your father?”
A long pause followed.
“I don’t know.”
The words were almost too quiet to hear.
“Mia, are you at home?”
“Yes.”
“Is Monica there?”
“No.”
I swung my legs out of bed and reached for my trousers.
“Who is with you?”
“No one.”
My hand stopped on the belt buckle.
“What do you mean, no one?”
“They went on their trip.”
I had heard something about a vacation, but Austin told me it was a short business retreat. He said Monica had earned discounted tickets through her travel company.
“When did they leave?”
“Yesterday morning.”
My bedroom suddenly felt very cold.
“And they left you with whom?”
“No one,” she repeated.
Behind her voice, I heard a faint scraping sound.
Mia stopped breathing.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I think someone is outside again.”
“Again?”
“They came to the back door before. The handle moved.”
I pulled on my shirt without fastening the buttons.
“Go to the bathroom upstairs. Lock the door.”
“Daddy said I’m not allowed in their bathroom.”
“I don’t care what your father said. Go now.”
I heard quick footsteps.
A door closed.
A lock clicked.
“Are you inside?”
“Yes.”
“Stay on the phone with me.”
“The battery is almost gone.”
“Isn’t there a charger?”
“Monica took it because she said I lose things.”
I grabbed my keys and moved toward the hallway.
“Use the house phone.”
“It doesn’t work.”
“What about the alarm system?”
“The lights are off.”
I knew Austin had been behind on several bills, but each time I offered help, he insisted everything was under control.
“Mia, listen to me. I’m coming.”
“Please don’t tell Daddy I called.”
Her words stopped me harder than any scream could have.
“Why?”
“He said if I ruined this vacation, he would send me away.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“No one is sending you anywhere.”
“He said you don’t want me because Grandma is gone.”
For a moment, I could not speak.
Margaret had adored Mia. During the last months of her illness, Mia would crawl into bed beside her and read children’s books aloud, slowly sounding out every difficult word. Before Margaret died, she made me promise that Mia would never feel alone.
I had believed Austin would always be there for his daughter.
I had been wrong.
“Mia,” I said, keeping my voice steady, “your grandmother loved you more than the whole sky, and I love you just as much. I am coming to get you.”
“What if the person comes inside?”
I opened my front door.
“Stay quiet. Stay locked in the bathroom. I’ll call the police while I drive.”
“Grandpa?”
“Yes?”
“Hurry.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone for half a second before running toward my truck.
Austin lived thirty-eight minutes away.
May you like
That night, I made the drive in twenty-six.
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