I had memorized it by watching his reflection in the hallway mirror last week.

If I could reach the panel, I could disable the automatic night lock.

Then I could grab Lily, get to the car, and drive straight to the police station.

“Give me the phone,” Nathan said, taking a wide step toward me.

“Stay back,” I said.

Behind him, the door to Lily’s room creaked further open.

Eleanor stood in the doorway, her frail hands gripping the frame.

“Nathan,” she whimpered. “What are you doing to her?”

“Go back to sleep, Mother,” Nathan said without looking back.

“You promised,” Eleanor sobbed. “You promised no one else would get hurt.”

“Nobody is getting hurt,” Nathan said, his eyes fixed on my phone. “Just delete the file, Claire. We can talk about this like rational adults.”

“You aren’t rational,” I said.

My heel hit the edge of the top step.

I paused, balancing myself.

Below me, the stairs descended into the pitch-black foyer.

If I ran down now, he would catch me before I could enter the code at the front door.