Five years ago, the man I loved walked away when I refused to end my pregnancy. Last weekend, he saw my twin boys in the middle of a crowded mall, and one look at their faces shattered a lie his mother had spent two million dollars trying to keep buried. In that moment, I realized the past I had fought so hard to escape had finally caught up with all of us.

The moment Evelyn gave the order, pure maternal instinct overrode my fear.

I scooped Noah into my arms and grabbed Ethan by the collar of his jacket, pulling him desperately toward the emergency exit.

"Run, Ethan, do not look back!" I screamed, pushing my five-year-old ahead of me into the chaotic crowd.

The shoppers finally realized something was horribly wrong, scattering in all directions and creating a natural barricade of confused bodies.

I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see one of the massive security guards lunging toward me.

Before his heavy hand could grasp my shoulder, Damien slammed his fist directly into the guard's jaw.

The sheer force of the punch sent the massive man crashing into a display of glass perfumes, shattering them instantly.

"Get them out of here, Mara!" Damien roared, tackling a second guard who tried to bypass him.

I did not hesitate, sprinting through the heavy glass doors of the mall and out into the blazing afternoon sun.

My lungs burned as I carried Noah across the sweltering asphalt of the parking garage, constantly checking to make sure Ethan was right beside me.

We reached my battered sedan just as the wail of approaching police sirens echoed in the distance.

I shoved the boys into the backseat, my hands shaking so violently that I dropped my keys twice before unlocking the doors.

"Are we playing a game, Mommy?" Noah asked, his big gray eyes wide with innocent curiosity.

"Yes, baby, we are playing a very fast game of hide and seek," I choked out, finally jamming the key into the ignition.

The engine roared to life, and I slammed my foot on the gas pedal, tearing out of the parking structure at a reckless speed.

I checked my rearview mirror constantly, praying that Damien was somehow surviving the violent brawl he had started for us.

As we merged onto the busy interstate, my cell phone began to vibrate violently in the cup holder.

The caller ID displayed an unknown number, but something told me not to ignore it.

I answered it on speakerphone, keeping my eyes fixed on the traffic ahead.

"You drive surprisingly well for a woman having a panic attack," Damien's exhausted voice crackled through the speaker.

I let out a massive breath of relief, tears finally spilling over my eyelashes.

"Where are you?" I asked, my voice cracking under the overwhelming emotional weight of the day.

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"I am currently bleeding in the back of a taxi, and I need you to tell me where you live," he replied.

Before I could answer, a massive black SUV aggressively side-swiped my car, sending us spinning out of control toward the concrete median.

Chapter 2 - The Escape