Chapter 1 - The Black SUVs
The wind howling off Lake Michigan bit through my thin sweater like tiny needles.
I held Lily tight against my chest.
She was shivering.
I rubbed her back, trying to transfer whatever body heat I had left into her small frame.
Less than fifteen minutes later, the screech of heavy tires cut through the quiet, affluent neighborhood.
Two massive, black Cadillac Escalades swerved to the curb right in front of the Peterson brownstone.
The doors flew open in unison.
Zoe stepped out of the first vehicle wearing a tailored trench coat and a pair of dark sunglasses, even though it was pitch black outside.
Four very large, very intimidating men in sharp suits stepped out behind her.
Zoe didn't even look at the locked front door of the house.
She walked straight to me and draped a thick, heated blanket over Lily’s shoulders.
"Get in the second car," Zoe ordered softly.
"I need my purse, my keys, and our coats," I said, my voice finally finding its edge.
Zoe nodded at the largest man standing behind her.
He walked up the stone steps of the brownstone and kicked the heavy mahogany front door right near the deadbolt.
The door shuddered, but before he could kick it again, it swung open from the inside.
Mark stood there, his face pale and his eyes wide with panic as he looked at the four massive men standing on his porch.
"Chloe, what is this?" Mark stammered.
Zoe stepped in front of me, completely blocking his view of his daughter.
"She needs her purse, her keys, and her coats," Zoe said, her voice dripping with venom.
Mark swallowed hard and looked back into the foyer.
He reached behind the door and pulled out two large, fully packed suitcases.
He pushed them out onto the porch.
"I already packed her things," Mark said nervously.
The entire street seemed to go dead silent.
I stared at those two suitcases.
They were zipped up, heavily packed, and sitting right by the door.
He couldn't have packed all of my clothes and Lily's things in the fifteen minutes since I walked out.
He had packed them before dinner.
He had planned to kick us out before Megan even raised her hand to strike my child.
Mark looked down at his expensive shoes, unable to meet my eyes.
"It's just for the best, Chloe," he whispered.
Zoe signaled her men, who grabbed the suitcases and threw them into the trunk of the Escalade.
I didn't scream or cry.
I just stared at the man I had loved for seven years and realized I had been sleeping next to a stranger.
I climbed into the back of the SUV, pulling Lily onto my lap.
Zoe got in the driver's seat and slammed the doors locked.
As we pulled away, my phone vibrated in my pocket with a new text message.
May you like
It was from Mark.
The message read: "Don't try to go to the bank tomorrow."
