Chapter 1 - The Return
The operator's calm voice crackled through the phone speaker, asking for the nature of my emergency.
I could barely whisper my home address, my throat tight with an absolute, suffocating terror.
"There's a man tied up in my childhood bedroom," I choked out, my eyes locked on the battered stranger on the floor.
Before the operator could ask for more details, a sound echoed through the quiet house that made my blood run instantly cold.
It was the heavy, unmistakable rumble of the garage door opening downstairs.
My parents had returned from their errands way too early.
Panic flooded my veins as I realized I was trapped on the second floor with the ultimate proof of whatever sick game they were playing.
"They're home," I whispered into the phone, tears finally spilling hot down my cheeks.
"Stay on the line, police are already dispatched," the operator instructed, her tone shifting to high alert.
I heard the heavy thud of the door leading from the garage to the kitchen.
My father’s boots stomped against the hardwood floor.
"Honey, did you leave the front door unlocked?" my dad’s voice boomed from the bottom of the stairs, sounding unnervingly normal.
I froze, holding my breath, pressing my back against the wall of the bedroom hallway.
The man in the closet let out a muffled groan, the sound piercing the terrible silence of the house.
I heard my mother gasp downstairs.
"Mark, the spare key is missing from the drawer," she said, her voice dropping into a frantic, sharp hiss.
Footsteps began to pound up the carpeted stairs, fast and aggressive.
There was no time to hide, no time to think.
May you like
I stepped out of the bedroom just as my father crested the top of the staircase.
His eyes darted from my trembling hands to the open bedroom door behind me, and his expression morphed from a loving father to a complete stranger.
