Chapter 1: The Boy Who Wouldn't Stop
"DON'T OPEN IT!"
Twelve-year-old Jack attacked the padlock on his stepmother's walk-in freezer with a heavy meat tenderizer.
Minutes earlier, a call from Diane's restaurant had cut off after Jack heard the frightened breath of Lucy, the mother everyone said had left him seven months ago.
Diane caught him in the closed kitchen and grabbed his shoulder.
"He's destroying my restaurant!"
Mark pulled his son away from the steel door.
"Mom's inside!"
"Your mom left us."
Then something thumped behind the freezer door.
Diane's anger turned into fear.
"It's nothing."
Jack broke free and swung one last time.
The padlock snapped.
When Diane lunged for the door, Mark stepped in front of her.
Jack opened the freezer.
Behind the plastic curtains sat Lucy, alive and trembling in a heavy coat, with her wrists tied and tape across her mouth.
"Lucy...?"
Lucy did not look at the son who had found her or the former husband who thought she had abandoned them.
She looked past Mark at Diane.
Diane's face lost all color.
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What did Diane do to Lucy — and what will Mark do when the truth hits him?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2.
