Chapter 3 - The Unexpected Savior
I stared at the terrifying note, my hands trembling so hard I dropped the piece of cardboard in the dirt.
My stepmother had been in the ambulance, which meant she had an accomplice on the property before the police arrived.
I quickly locked all the car doors and climbed into the back seat to sit next to my baby.
I pulled out my backup burner phone, a cheap device I had bought months ago for emergencies.
I frantically scrolled through my limited contacts, wondering who in the world I could possibly trust.
Suddenly, a massive black pickup truck turned onto the gravel driveway and sped toward us.
I ducked down below the window line, holding my breath and praying they would not see me.
The heavy truck screeched to a halt right next to my disabled sedan.
A tall man stepped out of the driver's side, and my heart nearly stopped when I recognized his face.
It was Mark, my baby's biological father who had abandoned us three days after the birth.
He knocked frantically on the tinted glass of my car window.
"Open the door, please, I know you are in danger!" Mark shouted over the wind.
I hesitated, terrified of his sudden reappearance, but I had absolutely no other options.
I unlocked the door and pointed the rusted pruning shears directly at his chest.
"Why are you here, Mark?" I demanded, keeping the makeshift weapon raised.
"Your father called me this morning and told me his wife was planning something psychotic," Mark explained breathlessly.
He promised me that he had come back to make things right and protect our child.
I desperately wanted to believe him, so I grabbed the car seat and climbed into his massive truck.
He hit the gas pedal, tearing down the rural highway away from the nightmare.
I finally relaxed my grip on the shears, watching the trees blur past the passenger window.
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Then, the digital navigation screen on his dashboard suddenly lit up with an active route.
The final destination was pinned exactly at my stepmother's private, secluded lake cabin.
