I climbed slowly, each wooden step creaking beneath my bare feet. The attic smelled of dust, insulation, and old holiday boxes. I shut the door behind me and slid the small latch into place.

“Lock it,” Mara said.

“I did.”

“Stay away from the window.”

Then the call dropped.

For one long, awful minute, nothing happened.

Then I heard Caleb’s voice downstairs.

No longer sleepy.

Calm.

“Lights are off,” he said.

Another man answered from inside my house.

“Then she knows.”

My hand flew to my mouth.

Through a narrow gap in the attic floorboards, I could see part of the hallway below. Caleb stood there in sweatpants, my laptop tucked under one arm.

Beside him stood a stranger in a black raincoat.

The stranger handed Caleb a small case.

Caleb opened it, revealing three passports.

One had my husband’s photo.

One had my son’s.

The third had mine.

But none of them carried our names….

part2