CHAPTER 5 — Mason please believe me

CHAPTER 5 — Mason please believe me

The house no longer felt like a home, it honestly never did

It felt like a cage.

Kate’s knees gave way as she slid down the wall outside Mason’s bedroom, her phone was so tightly in her hand that her fingers hurt. Inside the room, Elena’s cried from within the safe, small, terrified, growing weaker by the second.

“Mummy’s right here,” Kate sobbed, pressing her forehead against the cold metal. “I’m here, baby. Please hold on.”

She tried the keypad again. Numbers blurred through her tears. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Anything that could make sense. The safe rejected every attempt with a cruel, mechanical beep.

Her heart hammered, how did Elena manage to get the password.

She called Mason again.

it went straight to voicemail.

A scream rose from her throat, broken. This wasn’t how her life was supposed to be.

This wasn’t the future she imagined when she chose love, patience and hope over her dignity.

She never should have slept with mason that night, she never should have married him knowing he didn't like her.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

Kate lifted her head.

Hope breakinginto her fear as flashing lights spilled through the windows. She scrambled to her feet just as the front door burst open.

“Fire department!” a voice called out.

Kate ran toward them, barely able to speak. “My daughter—she’s trapped—inside the safe. Please—please—”

They didn’t waste a second.

Two firefighters followed her upstairs while another tried to calm her, asking questions she could barely answer. How long had the child been inside? Was there air circulation? What model was the safe?

Kate shook her head helplessly. “I don’t know. My husband—he knows the code. He won’t answer his phone.”

The firefighters exchanged looks.

“okay then ,” one of them said gently. “We’ll do everything we can to get her out.”

The sound of tools hitting metal filled the room. Sparks flew. Kate covered her mouth, every hit against the safe feeling like it was hitting her chest instead.

“Elena!” she cried. “Mummy’s right here!”

A faint sob answered her.

It nearly destroyed her.

Kate’s knees hit the floor before she knew she was falling.

Elena sob and cries scared, muffled, panicked, fading.

Kate clawed at the metal safe, her palms scraping against its cold surface as though sheer desperation could force it open.

“Elena!” she cried. “Baby, answer me!”

She turned toward the firefighters standing at the doorway. “Please,” she begged, her voice falling apart. “Help me. Please.”

One of them stepped forward, his expression tightening as he examined the safe. “Ma’am, we are trying, but without the password, it’s dangerous. These safes are airtight.”

Kate’s heart dropped violently.

“No,” she whispered. “No, no—she’s too small—she can’t—”

“Who has the code?” another firefighter asked gently.

“My husband,” Kate said immediately. “He has it. He always has it.”

“Then you need to call him. Now.”

Kate’s hands were shaking so badly she nearly dropped her phone. She stared at the screen, blinking through tears as she tried to dial Mason’s number but .

“I—I can’t, he might just be ignoring me” she sobbed.

A firefighter came forward. “Use mine.”

She barely remembered taking the phone from his hand.

All she remembered was praying.

Mason was laughing with Ellie when his phone vibrated again.

He stood outside an upscale restaurant, Ellie beside him, her arm looped through his as she spoke animatedly about a dish she wanted to try. He frowned when he saw the missed calls—five from Kate. One unknown number.

Annoyance clear across his face.

“She always does this,” he muttered

he glanced at the screen. he knew it was Kate. Again.

“She really doesn’t know when to stop,” he muttered, answering and placing the phone on speaker without thinking.

“What now, Kate?”

Her voice came through instantly—hoarse, drenched in terror and fear .

“Mason,” she cried. “Please. I need the password.”

Ellie, seated beside him, stiffened. “The password?”

Mason’s jaw tightened. “Are you serious right now?”

“Mason, please listen to me”

“So this is your new plan?” he snapped. “You couldn’t get money from the bank, so now you want access to the safe?”

Kate let out a broken sob. “No. No, I swear—Elena is inside the safe.”

For a brief, terrifying second, Mason felt the ground shift beneath him.

“What?” he said slowly.

Ellie laughed sharply, too casual and cruel for the moment. “Wow. You’ve really lost your mind.”

Kate cried harder. “She went into your room—I don’t know how it opened—it locked—I can’t get her out—Mason, she’s crying—”

Ellie leaned closer to the phone, her tone icy. “You lying bitch. How would Elena even know there’s a safe?”

Kate gasped. “i don't know okay She was playing, I was crying. She thought, I guess she thought you didn’t give me money—”

“There it is,” Ellie said calmly, turning to Mason. “She’s using Elena. She knows exactly how much you love your daughter.”

Mason’s fingers clenched, his thoughts were spinning and his vision turning blur.

Kate screamed into the phone. “Ellie, please! This isn’t about money!”

Ellie tilted her head, fake sympathy dripping from her voice. “You’re trying to take his happiness. Just like you always have.”

Kate sobbed uncontrollably. “Mason, please believe me. Please.”

Ellie smiled faintly. “She’s always been a good actress when it comes to money.”

Kate whispered, her voice barely there, "I would never do something like this especially with Elena involved.”

Ellie reached over, took the phone from Mason, and ended the call.

Mason stared at the dark screen.

Something felt wrong.

His chest was tight, his breath uneven.

“She wouldn’t hurt Elena,” he said quietly, more to himself than to Ellie. “She wouldn’t do that.”

Ellie placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Exactly. She’s desperate—but she’s not stupid.”

Still,he felt unease .

Back at the house, Kate was unraveling.

She pressed her ear against the safe, tears streaming down her face.

Inside, Elena’s cries were weaker now.

The firefighters exchanged looks that made Kate’s stomach twist.

“Ma’am,” one of them said carefully, “without the code—”

Kate didn’t wait for the rest.

She grabbed her phone and checked Mason's location.

A restaurant.

Close.

“If he sees me,” she whispered, s, “he’ll believe me. He has to believe me”

She ran.

The restaurant was fancy and quiet until she burst through the doors

Her hair was wild, eyes swollen, clothes wrinkled and stained. Conversations stopped.

Kate didn’t care, the only thing she cared about at that moment was her daughter.

“Mason!” she cried.

He stood instantly, shock flashing across his face. “Kate?”

Ellie stiffened beside him.

Kate crossed the room, breathless, tears streaming. “I’m not lying. I swear on my life. Elena is trapped.”

Ellie scoffed loudly. “This is ridiculous.”

Kate dropped her pride right there. “I’ll leave. I swear. I’ll leave this marriage, this house—just give me the password. Please.”

Mason’s face twisted. “You’d leave Elena?”

Kate shook her head violently. “yes If that’s what it takes to save her.”

Something cracked inside him.

Ellie stepped forward quickly. “She’s manipulating you. She just wants the money she's gonna take it and leave with elena”

Kate suddenly turned and dialed a number.

The fire department.

She put it on speaker.

“This is Mrs. Hale,” she said, her voice shaking but clear. “please how much times does Elena have in there.

The fireman at the other end signed, " madam I'm can't be sure but the oxygen in there is definitely reduced to a really low level now, she is too weak to speak, could be around 5 minutes. Do you have the password?.

The color drained from Mason’s face.

He looked at Kate—really looked at her.

And he knew.

They arrived at the house in minutes that felt like hours.

Mason shoved past everyone, his hands trembling as he entered the code.

Ellie grabbed his arm. “Mason, don’t—this is a trick—”

The safe door opened.

Elena lay still inside.

Unconscious.

Kate screamed.

Mason froze.

The world collapsed.