Trapped Behind an Opened Door

By Rich E Shaw

Trapped Behind an Opened Door, the storyline is well-structured plot depicting a marriage that looks well put together, next to perfect, on the outside but is actually hiding many secrets. The book is all told from a first-person point-of-view and alternates the present day marriage between Philip and Zoey with the past, including the months leading up to the marriage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rich E Shaw
• Release date: Oct 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781801283748

Book preview

Acknowledgment

I acknowledge that no table was broken, no typewriter smashed, no inkwell hurled at the wall in the writing of this book.

I also acknowledge my loving family for bearing with me – I wouldn’t have done this if not without their encouragement and support.

About the Author

Richard E Shaw III (as known as Rich Shaw), is an author, inventor, educator, business analysis and philanthropist. Prior to becoming a professional writer, he served as a certified high school English teacher, campus administrator, Executive Director, former owner and CFO of Rich Publishing House, Commissioner, business consultant and youth pastor.

Fueled by a desire to improve quality of life for society, he developed the Credit and Debit Receiving Dispensing Device; a device that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts credit cards into vending machines in lieu of cash.

Preface

Trapped Behind an Opened Door, the storyline is well-structured plot depicting a marriage that looks well put together, next to perfect, on the outside but is actually hiding many secrets. The book is all told from a first-person point-of-view and alternates the present day marriage between Philip and Zoey with the past, including the months leading up to the marriage.

Zoey finds herself married to a handsome lawyer, Philip. In the beginning, he charmed her with his good looks and devotion to defending battered women, but mostly because if his devotion to her sister Hannah, who has Down’s Syndrome. Soon after their wedding Zoey finds that Philip is a sociopath.

As a child, Philip lived with a cruel father who kept his wife, Philip’s mother, locked in the cellar. Together, father and child tortured her, and when Philip was a teenager, he murdered her and blamed it on his father. As an adult, he has searched for a woman he can lock away and torture in a similar way; he has decided that with Down’s syndrome, Zoey’s sister Hannah is a perfect choice. Because their parents have no interest in them, Zoey and Hannah are easy to lose in the world. While maintaining a persona as a brilliant and kind lawyer, Philip makes his marriage to Zoey seem perfect by forcing her to appear doting and lovely in public with his friends. At home, he keeps Zoey locked in a small room and only periodically feeds her. Early in the marriage, she tried to escape, but Philip made her life smaller and smaller. His goal is to keep Zoey around until Hannah ages out of her school, in a short number of months.

Zoey feels like their new neighbor, Marie, may see more into their marriage than others do, but she cannot be sure, and she cannot risk saying something to Marie and getting into trouble with Philip. Eventually, Hannah also confesses that she knows Philip is bad. One day she smuggles a handful of sleeping pills to Zoey and encourages her to use them on Philip.

Although the pills give Zoey some hope that she will be able to escape her husband, it is difficult to plan to overpower him. Luckily, he is involved in a high profile, time-consuming case that, as court draws nearer, starts to wear on his mind Zoey uses it to her advantage, luring him into her room for a nightly chat over a glass of whisky as they discuss the case Zoey feels like she has time, but when Hannah comes to their house for a birthday party, Philip is reluctant to let Hannah leave, and wants to have her move in sooner. As soon as the court case is over, he promises, they will make it happen. Zoey feels the pressure of a deadline. The day the case is decided, Philip comes home telling Zoey to get ready to go to Italy, and when they return they will get Hannah. Philip manages to dump the crushed sleeping pills in Philip’s whiskey, and then she lures him to the basement. Hannah’s Room is a horrifying, windowless room that locks from the outside and is painted all red.

Additionally, the walls are covered with grotesque paintings of Philip’s former clients, battered and bruised. Although Philip intended the space for Hannah, Zoey lures him into the room and locks him in. She takes the flight to Italy alone, telling everyone they know that Philip urged her to take their vacation so he could spend a few days finishing up the court case he had just lost. Zoey tells Marie that Philip plans to join her in a few days.

Of course, Philip never shows up. In the meantime, Zoey calls him often and leaves him messages, allowing everyone in the hotel to see her seeking after him. Eventually, the London police get involved and find Philip dead from dehydration in the basement. Zoey rushes home. Marie picks her up at the airport and, over coffee, coaches her on what she should say to the police to get away with the murder

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

About the Author

Preface

––––––––

Chapter 1- Thrilled

Chapter 2- Beginning

Chapter 3- Confusion

Chapter 4- Misstep

Chapter 5- Proposal

Chapter 6- Marriage

Chapter 7- The Days After

Chapter 8- Re ality

Chapter 9- Friend

Chapter 10- Hell

Chapter 11- Memories

Chapter 12- Dear Diary

Chapter 13- Salvation

Page Left Blank Intentionally

Chapter 1

Thrilled

Dear Diary,

I think it is time I move out on my own. It has been a long time coming, and I will take Hannah with me as well. Mom and Dad are just so engrossed in themselves that they might not even notice. But I have fears - that I might not be able to take care of Hannah and all her needs as well as pay the bills without Dad’s money. It is just how things have been set up for me, for as long as I can remember. I hate my life; it is just like a prison. If it just had been me, I think I would have left home a long time, to be honest, old friend. But thinking about Hannah surviving alone just breaks my heart.

Oh! How I wish she were like me... whole, hale, and fine. I KNOW the only reason mom and dad prefer me over my sister is that Hannah has Down syndrome. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. I cannot leave her behind to be neglected by my parents! She is the only friend I have too! Well, there is nothing to it, I just felt so frustrated at Mom today that I felt that I would leave for good tonight. But now writing all of this I see that there is no way for me to do that yet.

Until then, the only outlet for my frustrations and worries is you, dear diary.

xxx

— and this is Zoe Martins— I heard a female voice say smoothly behind me, and I turned around to look at whose voice it was, only to stare into the most startling blue eyes. They were a brilliant sea-green, and they were looking directly at me. The guy was standing close enough to me that I saw his pupils dilate as soon as he saw me. I remembered that I had read somewhere that when a male looked at a female and was sexually interested in her, their pupils dilated. Hmm, interesting – should probably file that information for later.

Obviously, the sudden and unexpected encounter made me a little flustered which is unlikely of the cool and collected girl I like to portray. Hiding my brief slip-up with a dazzling smile, I turn to the woman who had spoken. Sarah, my childhood friend, had observed the exchange between myself and the man with the beautiful eyes with an amused expression.

Sarah, how nice of you to finally show up at one of these things, I said in mock sarcasm to the woman who was dressed to kill. Although we had managed to remain good friends after school ended, we rarely ever went out on a girl’s night together. We were just Saw each other and said Hi and did a quick check up on each other kind of friends. However, she laughed at me when I said this to her. She was not one for paintings, nor did she have any interest in the old masters. So, it was kind of shocking that the woman was even seen in the vicinity of a Caravaggio painting exhibition.

Well, my dad dragged me here, and before I could say no, I had been blackmailed into it. She laughed. She was one of those people who found it easy to laugh genuinely, not the fake simper that I had learned so well over the years. She had a full-bellied laugh that just somehow was elegant as well. Anyways, I turned to look at the man who was standing beside her, and she got the hint and said,

Oh, pardon my manners, this is Phillip Bedford. He is a lawyer, and even though I usually detest lawyers, he somehow managed to impress even me. Father invited him tonight as his guest, to which I agreed to go around and introduce him. I did my fake simper at her joke, then looked at Phillip and asked him, Oh, it is very difficult to impress Sarah. How did you manage to do that on the very first meeting? I inquired, genuinely interested.

Well, I just happened to answer her question about my specialization.

At this, Sarah herself interrupted him and said, Can you believe he helps abused women find shelter and defends them against their abusers? Isn’t that just about the only good thing a lawyer can do? She said, emphasizing distaste on the word lawyer.

Now, not all of us are bad you know. I can assure you that most of us start out with good intentions, but the lure of money after graduation is just too strong to resist. However, there are some of us who do remain strong enough to set up ourselves as what we had originally planned.

I am so glad to hear that! Oh, dart... father is wildly beckoning me. No doubt he wants me to sort out another gaffe with the private entrance list. I am so sorry Phillip, but I am not leaving you unattended here. My friend is good company. I shoot her a look at that statement... is she up to something devious?

With the last part hurriedly thrown over her shoulder, Sarah dashed down to where the security had set up their checkpoint, leaving me to look at Phillip who smiled at me awkwardly. Even that smile was brilliant and would have surely taken my breath away if I was not cursing Sarah inside my mind. Still, unknowingly, Phillip did put me at ease.

Are you really interested in all of these paintings, or are you also here because of someone?

Well, my mother did buy the tickets at some charity function, and she did promise that she would be here, but she has other things lined up as well. So, I ended up coming here alone.

Even though the last part was true, I actually loved coming to exhibitions because I was a painter. I had even had a few exhibitions of myself, but I didn’t add in the last part to impress Phillip. He was an impressive guy, intimidating, with his height closing onto six feet two inches, towering over my slight 5.4. He had an athlete's body, broad shoulders, and a slim waist.

I was damn sure that underneath the well-fitted suit he had at least a six pack of abs, as his biceps were ready to rip right through his coat. I was almost drooling as I studied him. He even had a sense of fashion, and his suite told me that he kept up to date with the latest trends. Stylish, trendy, a humanitarian, as well as devilishly handsome? There has to be a catch.

As I was giving him the mandatory once-over,