He disappeared down the dark hallway.

I pulled Lucas and Noah close to me.

They were shivering.

“Are we safe here, Mom?” Lucas asked.

“Yes, baby,” I said.

“We are safe.”

But as I said it, my phone vibrated in my hand.

It was a text from an unknown number.

I opened it.

It was a photo of the iron gates at the end of the driveway.

And standing outside the gates was Victoria Sterling, holding an umbrella, looking directly at the camera.

Below the photo was a single line of text.

*Open the gates, Emma. Or I will have the police open them for me.*

I stared at the screen, the cold draft from the hallway chilling the back of my neck.

My thumb hovered over the glass, trembling slightly.

“Alexander,” I called out, keeping my voice low so I wouldn’t frighten the boys.

There was no answer from the dark corridor.

I gripped Lucas and Noah by their shoulders and guided them into the library.

The room was vast, lined with towering bookshelves that smelled of decaying paper and beeswax.