The door shouldn’t have been locked, not from the outside, not by something metal and mechanized.
Panic pressed hard against my ribs, sharp and breathless. I stepped back from the door, my palm sliding off the cold knob. My mind raced with every terrible possibility.
Something is wrong.
My throat tightened around the words I couldn’t say aloud.
Had Daniel done this?
Had someone else gotten inside?
Was I trapped on purpose?
Was I in danger… again?
A tremor ran through me as I whispered, “Daniel?” Nothing answered except the soft hum of the heater across the room.
My breath came fast and uneven. I tried the handle again, twisting harder, forcing it down, and shoving my shoulder against the wood.
It didn’t budge. It felt like the mechanism on the other side was reinforced, somethi
