Chapter 1: The Door He Was Never Supposed to Open
Ethan Carter had spent fourteen hours on the road.
His shirt was wrinkled. His tie hung loose around his neck. His briefcase felt heavier than usual as he climbed the narrow stairs to the apartment where his wife and newborn son were staying.
For three months, he had worked construction jobs in neighboring states, taking every overtime shift he could find.
Every paycheck had gone home.
Every dollar.
He kept telling himself the sacrifice was temporary.
Soon they would move somewhere better.
Soon his wife, Olivia, would not have to struggle.
Soon their baby boy, Noah, would have everything he needed.
But the moment Ethan opened the apartment door, something felt wrong.
The silence.
The smell.
The cold air.
Then he heard a baby crying.
Not the normal cry of a hungry infant.
A desperate cry.
The kind that had been going on for far too long.
Ethan stepped into the bedroom and froze.
His briefcase slipped from his hand.
"No..."
Olivia lay motionless on the bed.
Bruises darkened her arms.
A dried stain marked the sheets beneath her hand.
Beside her, little Noah cried from a woven bassinet.
A bottle sat untouched nearby.
The room looked as though time itself had stopped.
"Ethan..."
The weak voice came from the next room.
Through the doorway he saw Olivia's elderly mother sitting on a torn sofa. Beside her sat Olivia's younger sister, wrapped in a blanket.
Both looked exhausted.
Both looked frightened.
"What happened?" Ethan whispered.
The old woman lowered her eyes.
"We've been trying to call you for two days."
Ethan's heart dropped.
Then he noticed the phone on the small table.
A video call was still active.
May you like
Someone had been trying desperately to reach him.
And nobody had succeeded.....To be continued in C0mments 👇
