Chapter 1 - The Flashing Lights
The red and blue lights of the police cruisers fractured the darkness of Arthur’s immaculate driveway, painting the pristine suburban home in the harsh colors of a crime scene.
I sat on the back bumper of the ambulance, a thermal blanket wrapped around my trembling shoulders, watching the paramedics load Leo into the back.
He looked even smaller on the stretcher, a fragile skeleton wrapped in pale skin.
A gruff detective with a notepad, Detective Miller, approached me. "Ms. Pendelton, we need to know exactly what time your brother-in-law called you."
"Around five," I stammered, my voice barely audible over the crackling police radios. "He said he was in Chicago. He just asked me to feed the fish."
Miller’s expression was grim. "We’ve got units securing the house. The basement… it’s bad, Sarah. There are scratch marks on the inside of that heavy oak door.
He didn't just lock him down there; he kept him in solitary confinement."
Suddenly, my cell phone vibrated in my coat pocket. The caller ID flashed across the cracked screen: Arthur Pendelton. My blood turned to ice.
"Answer it," Miller whispered, gesturing for another officer to start a trace. "Act normal. Do not let him know we are here."
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I took a shaky breath and swiped the green button. "Hello?"
"Sarah," Arthur’s voice drifted through the speaker, smooth, calculated, and utterly chilling. "Did you feed the fish yet? I forgot to mention... the basement door is acting up. Don't go down there."
