She walked straight to the small wooden doghouse near the fence, opened the door, and gestured inside.
“Stay there,” she said flatly.
Lily’s heart pounded.
“It’s dark…” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
“Then you’ll learn faster,” Vanessa replied, her patience gone completely.
Before Lily could react, Vanessa pushed them inside and shut the door.
The sound of it closing echoed louder than it should have.
Inside, it was cramped and dim. The air felt heavy, unfamiliar. Noah began to cry almost immediately, his small body shaking against Lily’s arms.
“It’s okay…” Lily whispered, even though her own voice was breaking. “It’s okay… Dad will come soon…”
She didn’t know if she believed it.
But she needed him to.
Time passed slowly.
Too slowly.
Minutes stretched into something longer, heavier. The crying faded into quiet sobs, then into exhausted silence, broken only by the sound of breathing in the dark.
Lily held Noah as tightly as she could, rocking him gently the way she had seen others do.
“Dad’s coming…” she repeated softly. “He’ll find us…”
Two hours later, the sound of a car pulling up broke the stillness outside.
Then the gate.
Then footsteps.