Chapter 7 - The Lion's Den
I violently threw the burner phone into the muddy darkness, severing the connection instantly.
My own flesh and blood had just sold me out to the monsters who stole my child.
I was completely alone in the freezing woods, hunted by powerful men, and entirely devoid of any resources.
A dangerous, primal rage finally replaced the blinding terror that had controlled me for the last twelve hours.
I was no longer a frightened victim running from a corrupted system; I was a mother who was going to take her son back by force.
I navigated through the dense trees until I reached a busy truck stop on the interstate highway just before dawn.
I snuck into the back of a massive cargo truck while the driver was inside paying for fuel, hiding among the wooden shipping pallets.
The truck carried me all the way back into the heart of the city, dropping me mere blocks from my own suburban neighborhood.
I waited until the morning commuter traffic peaked, using the crowded sidewalks to mask my approach to my own house.
I knew David would be expecting me to sneak in through the back doors or the basement windows at night.
So, I boldly walked right up to the front porch in broad daylight, grabbed a heavy landscaping rock, and smashed the beautiful stained-glass window of the front door.
I reached through the shattered glass, unlocked the deadbolt, and kicked the door open with a fierce yell.
The house alarm began screaming instantly, a piercing siren that would summon the police within three minutes.
I sprinted up the stairs, ignoring the burning pain in my leg, straight toward the nursery.
The room was completely empty, the crib neatly made, and the faint smell of baby powder lingering in the air.
I turned around to check the master bedroom, but a heavy hand suddenly grabbed the back of my hair.
Eleanor violently slammed my face into the drywall, laughing cruelly as I slid to the carpet.
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She held a massive kitchen knife in her right hand, her eyes wide with a terrifying, manic glee.
She proudly declared that David had taken the baby to a private airstrip, and I was going to bleed to death right here on the carpet before the cops ever arrived.
