Thomas was wonderful with the girls.
He never shouted at them.
He never punished them.
And after Michael, I thought I knew exactly what a dangerous man looked like.
That night, Sophie asked if she could lock her bedroom door from the inside.
“But Thomas is supposed to read you a story tonight,” I said.
She shook her head.
“I don’t want one. I’m tired. I sleep better when the door is locked.”
I didn’t force her.
A few days later, Thomas walked into the kitchen smiling.
“Pool day! Girls, go get your prettiest swimsuits.”
I expected Mia to race upstairs first.
Instead, she stayed exactly where she was.
“I don’t want to go.”
I stared at her.
Swimming with Thomas had always been the part of the week she looked forward to most.
Thomas laughed, but something caught my attention.
His hands tightened into fists for just a moment.
Then he smiled again.
“What happened to my beautiful girl?”
“I just don’t like going anymore.”
That evening, for the first time, I began putting small things together in my head.
The doctor’s question.
Sophie locking her door.
Mia suddenly refusing the swimming pool.
And the fact that, lately, both girls always seemed to find a reason to sleep in the same room.
Still, every time I looked at Thomas, I felt guilty for even allowing those thoughts into my mind.
Until one night.
Sophie locked her bedroom door again before going to sleep.
At around 2:30 in the morning, I woke up and realized Thomas wasn’t beside me.
At first, I assumed he had gone to the bathroom.
Then I heard a faint metallic sound from the hallway.
I slowly got out of bed and looked through the doorway.
Thomas was standing outside Sophie’s locked room.
One hand rested on the door handle.
In the other was a small key.
And in that moment, I realized something I had never known before.
Thomas had his own separate key to my daughters’ bedroom locks.
He slid the key into Sophie’s door.
The lock turned quietly.
Before opening it, he looked down the hallway toward our bedroom, as if checking whether I was still asleep.
Then he stepped inside.
And closed the door behind him.
I remained standing in the dark hallway, suddenly hearing the doctor’s question again in my head:
“Does Sophie feel safe with everyone at home?”
