Chapter 1 - The Black Bags Beneath the WaterEmily's final words echoed in my head.
“Daddy… Mommy tried to stop him.”
I stared at my daughter.
“What do you mean?”
She tightened her arms around my neck.
“He got angry.”
“Who?”
She didn't answer.
I already knew.
“Jason?”
Emily nodded against my shoulder.
I felt something inside me go cold.
I looked toward the house.
Every curtain was still closed.
The front door remained locked.
Sarah's car wasn't in the driveway.
Jason's SUV was.
I carried Emily toward the fence.
Mrs. Harris was waiting on the other side.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she whispered when she saw Emily.
My daughter buried her face against my chest.
“Call the police,” I told Mrs. Harris.
She immediately pulled out her phone.
I looked back at the pool.
The black bags were still there.
Several of them.
Large enough to contain something far heavier than ordinary household garbage.
Emily began shaking again.
“Daddy, don't look.”
“Okay.”
I turned away.
“I won't.”
But I couldn't ignore what I'd seen.
Something was terribly wrong.
I climbed over the fence with Emily in my arms.
Mrs. Harris opened her gate.
“Take her to my house,” she said.
I nodded.
The moment we entered, Emily's legs gave out.
I caught her.
She looked exhausted.
“Daddy?”
“I'm here.”
“Don't let him find me.”
My heart broke.
“He won't.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
She stared at me.
“Jason said nobody would believe me.”
I knelt.
“I'm going to believe you.”
She hesitated.
“Even if Mommy says I'm lying?”
My chest tightened.
“Even then.”
She began crying.
Not loudly.
Just silent tears rolling down her cheeks.
I hugged her.
Then the sound of sirens approached.
Two police cars stopped outside.
Officers rushed into the backyard.
One officer approached the pool.
He examined the water.
Then he looked at the bags.
“Don't touch anything.”
Another officer photographed the enclosure.
The padlock.
The ground.
The pool.
Everything.
Then one of them turned toward me.
“Sir, are you the father?”
“Yes.”
“Where is the mother?”
“I don't know.”
“Where's Jason?”
“I don't know.”
The officer looked toward the house.
“Does your daughter know?”
Emily immediately grabbed my hand.
“No.”
The officer crouched several feet away.
“Emily, can you tell me what happened?”
She looked at me.
I nodded.
“You can tell him.”
Emily swallowed.
“Jason locked me in there.”
“For how long?”
She looked down.
“Three days.”
The officer's expression changed.
“Three days?”
Emily nodded.
“He said I was bad.”
I felt my fists clench.
“What happened to your mother?”
Emily's face became terrified.
“She tried to help me.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Did Jason hurt her?”
Emily began crying.
“He pushed Mommy.”
The officer immediately stood.
“Everyone stay here.”
He signaled another officer.
They entered the house.
I held Emily tighter.
Five minutes later, one of the officers returned.
His face was serious.
“There's no sign of Sarah.”
“Did you find anything?”
He looked toward the pool.
“We found blood.”
My stomach dropped.
“Whose?”
“We don't know yet.”
Emily covered her ears.
“No.”
I pulled her close.
“Don't listen.”
But she had already heard.
The officer looked at me.
“We need to take your daughter to the hospital.”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
As paramedics approached, Emily grabbed my sleeve.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“Mommy is still alive.”
I looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because before Jason took her away…”
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She whispered:
“She told me to wait for you.”
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