Chapter 6 - Betrayal
I literally felt the air get completely sucked out of the dingy motel room as Marcus’s cold mugshot stared directly back at me.
He absolutely wasn't a noble vigilante trying to save me from Linda’s insane wrath; he was a literal human trafficker.
Linda hadn't hired him to kill me at the house.
She had specifically hired him to take my baby away forever and make it look like I had gone crazy and fled the state.
I rushed back to the bed and scooped a sleeping Noah tightly into my arms, my mind racing with pure, blinding panic.
I had to get far away from this horrible room before Marcus returned from making his fake phone calls.
I grabbed the heavy diaper bag and the thick folder of undeniable evidence I had stolen from Ryan’s locked desk.
I cracked the motel door open just an inch and peered carefully into the dark, silent parking lot.
Marcus’s black SUV was completely gone, meaning he really had left the premises to coordinate his next move.
But I knew in my gut he would be back very soon to finish whatever sick, twisted job Linda had paid him to do.
I slipped quietly out of the room, keeping myself pressed firmly to the deep shadows cast by the broken, flickering streetlights.
The closest highway was a treacherous quarter-mile walk across an open, wet, weed-filled field.
I held Noah extremely tight against my chest, praying to God he wouldn't wake up and start crying in the dark.
Every single snap of a dry twig beneath my thin shoes sounded exactly like a loud firecracker in the silent night.
I finally reached the muddy edge of the highway just as the flashing red and blue lights of a police cruiser appeared in the far distance.
My very first instinct was to wave my arms wildly and beg the approaching officers for help.
But then I vividly remembered the news broadcast and the warning about the local police being bought by Linda’s wealthy family.
The news broadcast had literally just labeled me a highly armed and dangerous kidnapper on national television.
If the local police found me walking in the dark, they would instantly draw their weapons and take Noah straight back to Ryan.
I quickly ducked down deep into the tall, muddy ditch beside the road, hiding completely in the wet weeds as the cruiser sped past.
Once the bright taillights completely faded, I forced myself to stand up and start walking toward a small gas station glowing faintly about a mile down the road.
My arms ached terribly, and my wet, milk-stained clothes clung freezing cold to my shivering skin.
I finally reached the bright gas station and quickly slipped into the dirty public restroom located around the back of the building.
I locked the heavy metal door, sat down exhausted on the filthy tile floor, and pulled out the cheap burner phone Marcus had given me.
I desperately needed to call someone, anyone located completely outside of this corrupt town who could actually help me.
I nervously dialed my older sister's number in Chicago, praying intensely she would answer her phone at three in the morning.
The line rang loudly twice before a voice finally picked up the connection.
"Hello?" a remarkably deep, incredibly familiar male voice answered calmly.
I completely stopped breathing as sheer terror gripped my heart.
It absolutely wasn't my sister on the other end of the line.
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"Did you really think I wouldn't meticulously track the GPS in the burner phone I gave you, Sarah?" Marcus asked coldly through the tiny speaker.
"I'm standing right outside the bathroom door."
