Chapter 2 - The Man in the Shadows
I stare at the screen as the man pulls his hood down. It is Marcus, my toxic ex-boyfriend and Lily's biological father. I left him before Lily was even born because of his dangerous gambling debts. He was the one who ran me off the road three hours ago. I recognize the dent on the front bumper of his truck parked in my driveway. My mother is helping the man who almost killed me break into my home. "They are looking for the trust documents," Grandpa says, pulling out his own phone. "I moved them to a safe deposit box yesterday." I try to sit up, but a sharp agony shoots through my wrapped leg. "We have to call the police right now," I gasp. Before Grandpa can dial, my phone rings with an incoming video call. It is my mother, standing right inside my baby's nursery. "Meredith, darling," she purrs, holding up Lily's favorite stuffed bear. "Your bank just notified me that my monthly transfer was canceled." I glare at her, my hands shaking with absolute rage. "You set me up with Marcus so you could keep draining my bank account." She smiles a chilling, empty smile that makes my stomach turn. "Reinstate the transfer within ten minutes, or Marcus will take custody of his daughter." Then the camera pans over to show the emergency babysitter lying unconscious on my living room floor.
