Chapter 3 - The Lockdown
"Madison, listen to me very carefully," Cormac said.
"Rowan isn't alone. Look around the room. Is there a man in a gray suit?"
I peeked through the kitchen doorway.
There, standing near the punch bowl, was a man I didn't recognize.
He wasn't talking to anyone.
He was just watching Rowan.
"Yes," I whispered. "He's here."
"That’s the 'handler' she’s been meeting," Cormac said.
"I’ve been tracking some suspicious pings on our home network for weeks."
"I thought it was a hacker. I never dreamed it was her."
"She’s been downloading my research files from the nursery computer."
I looked at my pregnant belly.
The nursery.
The room where I spent my afternoons dreaming of my daughter.
Rowan had been in there, using my child’s room to betray us.
"Take her keys, Madison. Now."
"How? She'll notice."
"Spill something on her. Distract her. Just don't let her leave."
"I'm coming around to the front. I’m calling the police."
I hung up the phone.
I walked back into the living room.
Rowan was holding court, showing the 'cake explosion' video to our cousins.
"And then the look on her face!" Rowan laughed. "Pure gold!"
I walked straight toward her.
I didn't stop.
I "tripped" over the edge of the rug.
The tray of blue-frosted cookies I was carrying flew forward.
It wasn't an accident this time.
I made sure the blue icing coated her entire front—her face, her hair, and her designer bag.
"Oh my god!" Rowan shrieked. "Madison! You idiot!"
"I'm so sorry!" I cried, faking a sob. "I'm just so dizzy... the pregnancy..."
I reached out to "help" her, grabbing her bag to "clean" it.
In the chaos, my hand dipped into the side pocket.
I felt the cold metal of her key fob.
I palmed it and slid it into my maternity waistband.
"Get away from me!" Rowan yelled, shoving me back.
"You did that on purpose! You ruined my outfit!"
My mother rushed over. "Madison! Look what you’ve done to your sister!"
"She’s covered in that blue mess!"
I stood my ground, my hand hovering over the keys in my pocket.
"It’s just content, Rowan," I said, my voice cold.
"Stop overreacting."
Rowan froze.
She saw the change in my eyes.
She looked toward the gift table, then toward the man in the gray suit.
She reached for her bag.
"I'm leaving. Sawyer, let's go!"
She grabbed her canvas bag, clutching the black binder to her chest.
She ran for the front door.
She pulled the handle.
It didn't budge.
Cormac had already reached the front and locked it from the outside.
She turned to the patio doors.
I was standing in front of them.
"Where are you going, Rowan?" I asked.
May you like
"You haven't seen the end of the video yet."
***
