Chapter 16 - The Empty House
Tires screeched as Arthur’s SUV slammed into the gravel driveway of their upstate home.
The front door was hanging wide open, swinging lazily in the cold wind.
Arthur jumped from the vehicle without turning off the engine, sprinting across the lawn with his heart in his throat.
"Eleanor!" he screamed, bursting through the entryway. "Lily!"
The house was dead quiet.
In the living room, Lily’s stuffed rabbit lay abandoned on the hardwood floor.
On the dining room table, a tea kettle sat whistling on a portable burner that Arthur had never seen before.
Next to the whistling kettle was an iPad, its screen glowing in the dim afternoon light.
Arthur walked toward the table, every muscle coiled for an attack.
The screen flickered to life automatically.
A video feed appeared.
It showed Eleanor tied to a wooden chair in what appeared to be a greenhouse filled with towering white roses.
A piece of silver duct tape was strapped across her mouth, her eyes wide with terror as she struggled against the ropes.
Behind her, Lily was sitting on a stone bench, quietly coloring in a coloring book, completely oblivious to the danger.
A shadow crossed the camera frame, and a man stepped into view.
He wore a tailored charcoal coat, his hair greying at the temples, but the sharp, aristocratic jawline was unmistakable.
Julian Vance.
May you like
He looked directly into the camera lens and smiled.
"You have two hours, Arthur," Julian said through the tablet speakers. "Come back to the place where Father sealed the first contract. If you bring the police, I'll bury them both in the glass house."
