Chapter 2 - Claire Does Not Come Home
At five thirty that afternoon, Mark returned to the mansion.
The locksmith's van was gone.
Claire's car remained in the garage.
But Claire was missing.
Mark called her phone.
It rang from the kitchen.
Her purse sat on the counter.
Her wallet was inside.
So were her keys.
"Lily?"
His daughter appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Where's Mommy?"
Lily looked confused.
"With Grandma."
Mark's chest tightened.
"Where?"
Lily hesitated.
Victoria walked out of the sitting room.
"Claire left."
Mark turned.
"What?"
"About an hour ago."
"Her car is here."
"Someone picked her up."
"Who?"
Victoria shrugged.
"She didn't say."
Mark stared at her.
"Claire left without her phone, purse, wallet, or keys?"
Victoria's expression softened artificially.
"Perhaps she didn't want to be reached."
Mark walked toward her.
"What happened?"
"Nothing happened."
"Where's the locksmith?"
"He left."
"Did he open the red door?"
Victoria's mouth tightened.
"He decided it was unsafe."
Mark immediately called the company.
The locksmith answered after two transfers.
"Mr. Carter?"
"You were at my home today."
"Yes."
"Did you open the door?"
There was a pause.
"No, sir."
"Why not?"
"Your wife asked me to wait while she checked something."
"Then what?"
"An older woman came downstairs and said the appointment was canceled."
Mark looked directly at Victoria.
"What time?"
"Three twenty or so."
Mark hung up.
Victoria folded her arms.
"You're being dramatic."
"Claire called me at three fifteen."
"Then call her back."
"Her phone is in the kitchen."
Victoria said nothing.
Mark called security.
He asked for every camera recording between two and five.
The head technician sounded uncomfortable.
"Mr. Carter, several interior cameras were offline."
"Which ones?"
"The west hallway, kitchen corridor, and garage."
"Why?"
"We received an authorized maintenance request."
"From who?"
Another pause.
"Victoria Hale."
Mark ended the call.
He walked toward Victoria.
She remained perfectly composed.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
"Where is my wife?"
"I don't know."
Lily appeared halfway down the staircase.
Victoria noticed her.
Something passed between grandmother and child.
Fear.
Mark saw it.
He immediately went to Lily.
"Sweetheart, come here."
Lily descended slowly.
Mark crouched.
"Did you see Mommy leave?"
Lily shook her head.
"Did you see Mommy with Grandma?"
Lily glanced at Victoria.
Victoria's voice sharpened.
"Mark, don't interrogate a child."
He looked up.
"I'm speaking to my daughter."
Lily touched his sleeve.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Mommy was mad."
"At Grandma?"
Lily nodded.
"Where were they?"
"The hallway."
"Which hallway?"
Lily pointed west.
Victoria stepped forward.
"Enough."
Mark stood.
"Back away."
Victoria stared at him.
He had never spoken to her like that.
She tried another approach.
"You are frightened. I understand. But Claire has always been emotional."
Mark's face hardened.
"Careful."
"She threatened to leave you last year."
"She threatened to leave this house. Because of you."
Victoria smiled thinly.
"Is there a difference?"
Mark called the police.
Two officers arrived within twenty minutes.
Victoria told them Claire had left voluntarily.
Mark told them Claire had left her phone, money, vehicle, and identification behind.
The officers searched the main rooms.
They attempted to open the red door.
Locked.
Victoria repeated the electrical equipment explanation.
Mark demanded it be forced.
One officer asked whether anyone could be inside.
Victoria answered before Mark could.
"No."
Lily stood behind the staircase watching.
When the officers moved toward the red door, Victoria quietly reached down and squeezed Lily's shoulder.
Lily flinched.
Mark saw it.
So did one officer.
"Ma'am," the officer said, "please step away from the child."
Victoria released her immediately.
The police ultimately decided they needed authorization before damaging a locked utility area because Victoria claimed dangerous electrical infrastructure was behind it.
Mark nearly exploded.
He called his attorney.
The attorney promised to contact a judge.
By midnight, the house was filled with police, staff, lawyers, and security technicians.
Claire remained missing.
Mark listened to her voicemail repeatedly.
"Mark, something is wrong with that room."
At two in the morning, he sat alone in the kitchen.
Lily entered wearing pajamas.
He lifted her onto his lap.
"Can't sleep?"
She shook her head.
"Me neither."
For a while they sat silently.
Then Lily whispered, "Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"Mommy didn't leave."
Mark looked at her.
"How do you know?"
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"Because I heard Grandma say she couldn't."
Mark's entire body stiffened.
"When?"
"Today."
"Where?"
Lily pointed again toward the west wing.
"Grandma told Mommy, 'You should've stopped looking.'"
Mark stared at her.
"What happened after that?"
Lily pressed her lips together.
"Lily."
"Grandma told me not to tell you."
"You're not in trouble."
The child began crying.
"She said if I told, Mommy would disappear forever."
Mark held her.
May you like
Over Lily's shoulder, he saw Victoria standing in the dark doorway.
Listening.
