Chapter 2 - The Hidden Mark
I slammed on the brakes and swerved sharply onto a narrow dirt road.
David's heavy truck overshot the turn, skidding slightly on the main highway.
I did not wait to see if he would turn around.
I floored the accelerator, kicking up a massive cloud of dust behind us.
We tore through the winding backroads until I found an abandoned barn.
I pulled the SUV behind the dilapidated wooden structure and killed the engine.
My hands were shaking so violently I could barely unbuckle my seatbelt.
I turned around to check on the girls.
Emma was crying silently, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
Lily was completely motionless, staring blankly at the back of my seat.
I climbed into the back and pulled both girls into a tight hug.
I promised them everything was going to be perfectly fine.
Once Emma calmed down, I turned my attention back to my niece.
I needed to know exactly what David was willing to kill us over.
I gently asked Lily if she would show me what she had hidden in the locker room.
She hesitated, her lower lip trembling with fear.
She slowly pulled down the shoulder strap of her damp swimsuit.
I gasped and covered my mouth to muffle the sound.
It was not a bruise or a scrape from a playground fall.
Embedded perfectly into the skin on her upper back was a raised, metallic square.
It looked exactly like a medical tracking microchip, surrounded by fresh, angry stitches.
Lily looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
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She whispered that her parents told her she was a very special science project.
Before I could even process her words, my locked car doors suddenly clicked open.
