"Bur:n:ing with a 40°C fever, I was barely able to stand when my husband lashed out because dinner wasn't waiting on the table. I didn't argue or cry. Instead, I quietly signed the divorce papers he tossed in front of me. Smirking, my mother-in-law said, “Who do you think you're intimidating? Walk out that door, and you'll be begging on the streets.”

Patricia approached my hospital bed with slow, deliberate steps.

She whispered that her son deserved a much better life than I could ever give him.

She raised the metal syringe, preparing to inject a massive air bubble directly into my intravenous line.

An air embolism would cause an immediate, fatal heart attack that would look completely natural on an autopsy report.

My body was incredibly weak, but my survival instinct flared with a sudden burst of adrenaline.

I grabbed the heavy metal water pitcher from my bedside table and swung it as hard as I could.

The heavy steel connected squarely with Patricia's jaw, sending her crashing backward into the medical cart.

The syringe flew from her hand and shattered against the linoleum floor.

I ripped the intravenous needle out of my hand, ignoring the sharp sting and the immediate trickle of blood.

I stumbled out of the bed, wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown.

Patricia groaned on the floor, trying to pull herself back up to finish the job.

I ran out of the private room and sprinted down the busy hospital corridor.

I desperately dodged around nurses and medication carts, ignoring the confused shouts echoing behind me.

I pushed through the emergency exit doors and stumbled out into the freezing morning air.

I hid behind a row of industrial dumpsters in the alleyway and pulled my stolen cell phone from my pocket.

I had grabbed the phone from Patricia's pocket right before I fled the room.

I dialed the only person left in the world I could possibly trust.

Leo answered on the first ring, his voice tight with extreme panic.

I quickly told him my location and begged him to come get me before Ethan found out I was alive.

Leo promised he was only five minutes away and told me to stay perfectly hidden.

A sleek black sedan screeched to a halt at the edge of the alleyway a few minutes later.

I opened the passenger door and threw myself into the heated leather seat.

Leo hit the gas pedal hard, speeding away from the hospital before anyone could spot us.

I leaned my head against the window, finally feeling a small sense of safety wash over me.

I thanked Leo for saving my life at the law firm and for coming back to get me.

Leo did not say a word as he navigated the car toward the industrial district.

He pulled the car into an abandoned shipping warehouse and turned off the engine.

The heavy electronic locks on the car doors suddenly clicked shut, trapping me inside.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

Leo turned to look at me, his eyes filled with a deep, regretful sorrow.

He quietly apologized and confessed that Ethan had made him an offer he simply could not refuse.

Chapter 6 - The Getaway