The smart alarm panel beside the door lit up instantly, sounding a sequence of electronic beeps unmistakably tied to remote activation.

The soft glow of the keypad suddenly looked sinister instead of protective.

Penelope’s voice broke into a desperate sob.

“Mommy, Daddy locked us inside the house with his phone, didn’t he?”

For several suspended seconds, my brain fought against the reality of it—because the advanced smart security system Bryce had so enthusiastically installed was now showing its darker side, a technological cage he could control effortlessly from a distance.

I grabbed my phone and tried to call Bryce, but the call went straight to voicemail—a sterile automated response that only amplified the terror instead of easing it.