Chapter 17 - A Mother at the Door
Sarah reached the firehouse as a patrol car turned onto the block. She heard pounding from inside before she reached the steps.
"Ethan! Mason!"
"We're here!" Ethan shouted.
The main door wouldn't budge. Officer Patel called for backup and checked the side entrance. Sarah spotted a narrow window above old equipment, its bottom pane already cracked. She grabbed a loose metal bar and broke the remaining glass.
"Stay back," the officer ordered, but Sarah reached through, lifted the latch, and climbed inside. The frame scraped her forearm as she dropped onto the dusty floor.
Ethan rushed toward her, then stopped, remembering the boundaries they were rebuilding. Sarah crossed the room and held him for one second before letting go.
"Are you hurt?"
"No. Mason's okay. Dean took my phone."
Mason stood by the side door, shaking. "He locked us in. He said it was the only way to make us listen."
Officer Patel found the drive beneath the cabinet and photographed the chained door. Outside, another patrol car blocked the street. Dean's vehicle was stopped near the river road. Ethan's phone sat on the passenger seat with the video queued on its screen.
Officer Patel told Sarah that Dean would be questioned about the threats and locking the boys inside. The evidence was no longer just a family secret.
Ethan sat on the curb beneath a blanket. "I thought if I went alone, I could stop him from hurting you."
Sarah sat beside him, leaving space between them. "You don't protect me by putting yourself in danger. You can be angry with me. You can disagree with me. But you can't carry this alone."
He stared at the pavement. "I still don't know how to make things right with Lily."
"Let her decide what she needs. Then keep showing up the right way, even when it takes longer than you want."
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Mason called Ethan from beside the ambulance bay. "When we tell them the truth, I want to be there. Not because your dad saved me. Because I was there too."
Ethan nodded. For once, he didn't try to answer for anyone else.
