Chapter 2 - THE EMPTY KITCHENDaniel opened every cabinet.
Nothing.
A few crackers.
Half a jar of peanut butter.
An expired box of cereal.
That was it.
He stared at the shelves in disbelief.
He had deposited his paycheck three days earlier.
There should have been groceries.
There should have been food.
There should have been no reason for his daughter to eat from a dog's bowl.
“Emma,” he whispered, “when did you last eat?”
The little girl looked at Cooper.
Then at the floor.
“Yesterday.”
Daniel's stomach twisted.
“Yesterday?”
Emma nodded.
“Mommy said we were playing a game.”
“What game?”
“The quiet game.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Something was terribly wrong.
He carried Emma to the table and made her toast with peanut butter. She ate so quickly that he had to gently slow her down.
“Small bites, sweetheart.”
She nodded.
But her little hands trembled.
Daniel watched her.
Four years old.
Too young to understand money.
Too young to understand marriage.
Too young to understand why a father could walk into his own home and discover that his child had been starving.
His wife, Rachel, was nowhere to be found.
Her car was gone.
Her phone was switched off.
Daniel called again.
Straight to voicemail.
Then he noticed something else.
The bedroom door upstairs was slightly open.
He went upstairs.
The closet was half empty.
Rachel's suitcase was gone.
Daniel stood frozen.
She hadn't simply gone out.
She had left.
But why?
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And more importantly—
Why had she left Emma behind?
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