THE LEASH OF DEVOTION

The front entrance of the Vance estate was a grand, double-height foyer with a sweeping oak staircase and a heavy, solid mahogany door reinforced with brass hardware.

Evelyn sprinted across the polished hardwood floor, her sneakers squeaking against the wood. She reached the mahogany door, grabbed the heavy brass handle, and threw her weight backward to pull it open.

The door didn't budge.

"No, no, no!" Evelyn gasped, yanking on the handle with frantically rising panic.

She looked up at the electronic deadbolt mounted above the handle. The digital keypad was glowing a steady, solid red. A small LCD screen above the numbers displayed a single, chilling word: LOCKED.

"Ethan, unlock this door!" Evelyn screamed, turning back to face the long hallway.

From the dark corridor leading back to the kitchen, the slow, rhythmic sound of heavy footsteps echoed toward her.

Ethan emerged from the shadows. Blood was trickling down his upper lip, pooling around the collar of his stained white shirt, but his eyes were completely devoid of pain. They were dead, hollow, fixed on Evelyn with a terrifying, absolute intent. In his right hand, he held a sleek black remote control—the master key fob for the home's automated security network.

Behind him walked Clara, her face pale, carrying the heavy black leather leash she had retrieved from the kitchen floor.

"You can't run from this house, Evelyn," Ethan said smoothly, his voice echoed by the high ceilings of the foyer. "Every window in this estate is fitted with reinforced steel security shutters. The doors are locked from the central server. You are not going anywhere with my daughter."

"You're insane!" Evelyn shouted, backing away until her spine struck the cold wood of the locked mahogany door. "The camera saw everything, Ethan! Someone is watching! The police will be here in minutes!"