Chapter 1 - THE SOUND BEHIND THE DOOR
Over the next three days, Matthew barely even saw Grace.
That was what made what happened on Thursday afternoon so unsettling.
He had left the house before six every morning.
He returned after ten every night.
And somehow, in the narrow spaces between conference calls and international shipping disputes, the impossible had happened.
His house had become quiet.
Not completely quiet.
Matthew could still hear Benjamin and Caleb arguing over toys when he passed through the foyer.
He could still hear their little feet pounding across the hardwood floors.
He could still hear occasional crying.
But there was no screaming.
No shattered dishes.
No exhausted nanny waiting by the door with a resignation letter.
Instead, there was laughter.
Actual laughter.
Matthew noticed it for the first time when he came home early Thursday afternoon.
A storm had disrupted shipping operations at the Seattle port, forcing him to cancel two meetings.
For the first time in months, he had unexpectedly found himself driving home in daylight.
He hadn't warned anyone.
He hadn't even thought about it.
He simply wanted to see his sons.
He parked his black SUV in the driveway and walked toward the front door.
Rain dripped from his coat.
He unlocked the door quietly.
And froze.
Laughter floated through the hallway.
Two little boys were shrieking with delight.
Matthew's first instinct was panic.
Something must have happened.
Perhaps they were hurt.
Perhaps a window had broken.
Perhaps Grace had finally lost control.
He moved quickly toward the sound.
Then he stopped at the entrance to the kitchen.
The scene before him made absolutely no sense.
Benjamin and Caleb were standing in the middle of the kitchen wearing nothing but tiny shorts.
Their hair was covered in bubbles.
Soap suds covered their shoulders.
There were bubbles on the floor.
Bubbles on the counter.
Bubbles even hanging from the cabinet handles.
And in the middle of the chaos stood Grace.
She was laughing.
Not nervously.
Not politely.
She was genuinely laughing.
A thick layer of foam covered one side of her hair.
Benjamin was trying to put bubbles on Caleb's nose.
Caleb was attempting to return the favor.
"Look, Grace!"
Benjamin screamed.
"I made Daddy!"
He held up a handful of foam shaped vaguely like a human head.
Grace laughed.
"That's supposed to be your father?"
"Yes!"
Caleb pointed at the foam.
"He's angry."
Grace smiled.
"Your daddy is not always angry."
Both boys looked at each other.
Then they burst into laughter.
Matthew stared.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard his sons laugh like that.
Perhaps he had never heard them laugh that freely.
Then Grace looked up.
Their eyes met.
Her smile disappeared instantly.
She stepped backward.
"Mr. Carter."
Matthew said nothing.
His eyes moved from the bubbles to his children.
Then back to her.
"What happened?"
Grace swallowed.
"We were cleaning."
"Cleaning?"
Benjamin giggled.
"We're taking a bubble bath!"
Matthew stared at the kitchen.
"This is the kitchen."
Grace's cheeks reddened.
"Yes."
There was a long silence.
Then Caleb pointed at Matthew.
"Daddy!"
Matthew crouched.
"What?"
"You're home!"
The boy ran toward him.
Matthew caught him automatically.
Benjamin followed.
Within seconds, both boys were clinging to him.
And Matthew realized something that frightened him.
They were happy to see him.
But they were happier than they had been in months.
And he hadn't been the reason.
His eyes returned to Grace.
"What exactly have you been doing with my children?"
Grace wiped a bubble from her cheek.
"Taking care of them."
"That's not what I asked."
Her expression changed.
She seemed to understand what he was really asking.
"Your sons were angry."
Matthew stiffened.
"Angry?"
"At you."
He almost laughed.
"My sons are three years old."
"Three-year-olds can be angry."
Grace glanced toward the boys.
"They don't know how to explain why their mother left. They don't understand why you disappear every morning. They only know that every time an adult leaves, they are afraid another person will disappear too."
Matthew's jaw tightened.
"You've known them for three days."
"I know."
"And you're already diagnosing my family?"
"No."
She looked directly at him.
"I'm telling you what they showed me."
Matthew didn't know how to respond.
He looked down at Benjamin.
The boy was playing with the button on his father's shirt.
"Mommy said she'd come back," Benjamin whispered.
Matthew's chest tightened.
"When?"
"She said after Daddy stops being busy."
Matthew looked sharply at Grace.
"Did they tell you that?"
Grace nodded.
"Yesterday."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you weren't here."
The words landed harder than they should have.
Matthew slowly stood.
"I work."
"I know."
"I provide everything they need."
Grace's voice softened.
"I know."
"I've built this company from nothing."
"I know."
"Then what's the problem?"
Grace looked at him for several seconds.
"You provide everything except yourself."
Matthew went silent.
No employee had ever spoken to him like that.
No business partner.
No friend.
Not even Jessica.
Grace turned away.
"I'm sorry."
She began wiping the counter.
Matthew watched her.
For reasons he couldn't explain, he didn't feel angry.
He felt exposed.
Then Benjamin suddenly screamed.
"Grace!"
She turned.
The boy pointed toward the hallway.
"Someone's there!"
Matthew's body immediately stiffened.
"What?"
Benjamin pointed again.
"That man."
Grace froze.
Matthew moved toward the hallway.
"Caleb, who did you see?"
The child hid behind Grace.
"Man."
Matthew stepped forward.
The hallway was empty.
But near the back entrance, the door was slightly open.
Matthew's expression hardened.
He had security cameras throughout the property.
He pulled out his phone.
"Grace, take the boys upstairs."
She didn't move.
"Mr. Carter—"
"Now."
She immediately gathered the children.
Matthew walked toward the back door.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
He checked the security app.
The camera feed had been interrupted.
Not accidentally.
Someone had disabled it.
Matthew's pulse quickened.
Then his phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
One message.
You should have kept your wife out of this.
Matthew stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
Now it's your children.
His blood ran cold.
He looked toward the staircase.
Grace was holding both boys.
Benjamin was crying.
Caleb had buried his face against her shoulder.
Matthew slowly locked the back door.
For the first time in months, his business problems suddenly seemed insignificant.
Someone had entered his home.
Someone knew about Jessica.
And someone was watching his children.
May you like
But what Matthew didn't know was that Grace had already seen the man.
And she knew exactly why he had come.
