Chapter 7

The soft rasp of the zipper sliding down cut through the silence, startlingly loud in the enclosed room.

Then, all at once, chaos erupted outside. Footsteps pounded down the hallway, and Samuel's voice tore through the noise, sharp and furious, like a rabid dog on the hunt. "Search everywhere! Find her. I don't care where she's hiding. She couldn't have just vanished into thin air."

The doorknob rattled violently, followed by a sharp metallic click.

My heart lurched, then seemed to stop altogether. My hand froze at my back, every drop of blood in my body turning ice-cold.

If Samuel…