Chapter 1 - The Locked Door
The heavy brass doorknob rattled violently.
I held Chloe tightly against my chest as my heart pounded in my ears.
"Mom, open this door right now," Julian demanded from the hallway.
His voice was terrifyingly calm, stripping away the grief-stricken facade he had worn all week.
I backed away from the wood, clutching my trembling granddaughter in the dark laundry room.
The emergency dispatcher was still on the line, but her voice was barely a whisper through the speaker.
"Ma'am, officers are at least twenty minutes away," the dispatcher warned.
Twenty minutes was a lifetime when my son was throwing his full weight against the door frame.
Wood splintered with a loud crack as the hinges began to give way.
I looked frantically around the small room and spotted the narrow ventilation window above the washing machine.
"Hold onto my neck, sweetie," I whispered to Chloe.
I climbed onto the appliance, pushed the glass pane open, and shoved us through into the freezing Chicago night.
We landed hard in the snow-covered bushes just as I heard the laundry room door crash open inside.
I scrambled to my feet, wrapping my black wool shawl tighter around Chloe's burning, feverish body.
My car was parked at the end of the long driveway, gleaming under the pale moonlight.
We ran across the icy pavement, my breath tearing through my lungs in ragged gasps.
I reached the driver's side door and pulled the handle, but it was completely jammed.
I looked down and realized all four of my tires had been slashed to the rims.
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A cold hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind.
I spun around to find Victoria standing in the shadows, holding a loaded medical syringe.
