Chapter 2 - The Slashed Escape
"Hey, stop right there!" the deputy shouted, drawing his taser and running after my father.
I clutched my baby tightly against my chest, unable to believe what was happening.
My father was actually trying to destroy the only evidence that proved my stepmother tried to kill his grandchild.
He crashed through the thick brush, desperately trying to access the cloud deletion settings while running.
The deputy was much younger and closed the distance in a matter of seconds.
I heard the sharp crack of the taser deploying, followed by my father's heavy body hitting the dirt.
The deputy walked out of the woods a minute later, holding my phone safely in his hand.
"The video is perfectly secure, and your father is now in custody for tampering with evidence," the deputy assured me.
I thanked him through my tears, feeling a profound sense of betrayal shattering my heart.
The man who had promised to protect me had chosen a murderer over his own daughter.
I walked into the empty house, packed a single duffel bag with baby supplies, and locked the front door.
I knew I had to get as far away from this cursed property as possible.
I walked down the long gravel driveway toward my old sedan parked near the mailbox.
I buckled my sleeping newborn into the car seat and finally let out a long breath of relief.
I climbed into the driver's seat and turned the ignition key.
The engine sputtered and died immediately, accompanied by a harsh grinding noise.
I stepped out of the vehicle and looked down in absolute horror.
All four of my tires had been brutally slashed with a hunting knife.
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Under the windshield wiper, someone had left a fresh, handwritten note on a piece of torn cardboard.
"You cannot run from what is owed," the note read in my stepmother's distinctive handwriting.
