His breath caught sharply against the microphone, a ragged little gasp that sounded far too old for a four-year-old boy. “Dad… please come home,” he whimpered, his voice barely audible over the phone. “Mom’s boyfriend h!t me.
He’s mad.”
The world around me seemed to tilt. The bright fluorescent lights of the office corridor suddenly felt blinding, and the air left my lungs completely. Rage, sheer panic, and a sickening sense of helplessness washed over me all at once. Noah was supposed to be safe. Lena had assured me that her new boyfriend, a guy named Marcus who drove a loud truck and always seemed to wear a smug, dismissive grin, was “great with kids.” I had swallowed my doubts for the sake of a peaceful co-parenting relationship. Now, hearing my son trembling on the other end of the line, every single instinct I had as a father screamed at me to tear the city apart to get to him.
“I’m coming, Noah. Daddy is coming right now,” I said, my voice cracking as I slammed my hand against the elevator button. “Where are you right now, buddy?”
“In the closet,” he whispered, a fresh wave of silent tears catching in his throat. “With the shoes. Don’t let him hear.”
“Stay right there. Don’t move, don’t make a sound. I love you, Noah.”
I hung up and sprinted out of the elevator into the parking garage. I threw my car into reverse, tires screeching against the concrete as I tore out onto the main road. I checked my GPS. Twenty-two minutes. Traffic was backed up all the way down the main artery leading to Lena’s suburban neighborhood. Twenty-two minutes of my son hiding among sneakers and winter coats while a monster walked the halls of his home.
It was too long. Anything could happen in twenty minutes.
My hands shook violently against the steering wheel as I tried to think. I couldn’t call the police yet—I didn’t have proof, and by the time dispatch routed a car for a domestic welfare check based on a four-year-old’s phone call, it could take even longer. I needed someone on the ground right now. Someone who lived close.
My mind flashed to a house just three minutes away from Lena’s. It belonged to Arthur, Lena’s father.
