Chapter 3 - The Burner Phone
The heavy thud of combat boots echoed through the ceiling above the consultation room.
Ryan and his lawyer exchanged a confused, nervous glance as the building security alarms began to blare.
I used their distraction to slip out of the room and sprint down the hallway toward the pediatric intensive care unit.
I had to get to Eli before anyone else did.
I pushed past panicked nurses and bewildered security guards, my bare feet slapping against the cold linoleum.
I found Eli's room at the end of the corridor, where he was sleeping peacefully under the glow of a heart monitor.
I rushed to his bedside and wrapped my arms around his small, fragile body.
Suddenly, a hand clamped down firmly on my shoulder.
I spun around, ready to fight for my life, but it was Mark, the paramedic from earlier.
"You have to get him out of here right now," Mark whispered urgently.
He shoved a cheap, plastic burner phone into my trembling hands.
"There is only one number programmed into this phone," Mark explained.
"It belongs to a woman named Sarah, and she is the only family rights attorney in the city who cannot be bought."
I clutched the phone tightly and asked Mark why he was risking his own career to help me.
Mark looked down at his boots, a deep shadow of guilt crossing his face.
"Because Ryan killed my younger sister five years ago, and your parents paid the police to cover it up," Mark confessed.
I gasped, finally understanding the sharp look of recognition and fear I had seen in his eyes at my house.
"The tactical team on the roof was sent by your mother to extract Ryan before the real police arrive," Mark warned.
I gently scooped Eli into my arms, being incredibly careful not to agitate his broken ribs.
He whimpered softly in his sleep but rested his bruised cheek against my shoulder.
Mark led us toward a hidden service elevator at the back of the ward.
"Take this down to the basement parking garage and steal my ambulance," Mark instructed, tossing me a set of heavy keys.
"I will stay here and stall Ryan for as long as I possibly can."
I thanked him with tears in my eyes and stepped into the cramped elevator.
The doors slid shut, plunging Eli and me into a terrifying, mechanical silence.
I pulled out the burner phone and pressed the only button on the screen.
The line rang twice before a sharp, female voice answered.
"If Mark gave you this phone, it means you are officially hunted," Sarah said without any introduction.
"My son is injured, and my family is trying to take him from me," I cried desperately into the receiver.
"Listen to me very carefully, Hannah," Sarah commanded in a tone of absolute authority.
"The judge who signed that emergency custody order tonight is your mother's brother, Uncle Arthur."
My blood turned to ice as the final piece of the horrifying puzzle locked into place.
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The elevator doors pinged and opened into the dark, damp basement garage.
Standing directly in front of the ambulance, blocking my only path to escape, was my father.
