Chapter 3 - The Safe House
David pressed his back against the cold concrete pillar, unable to process what he had just seen.
The doctor was on Victoria’s payroll.
The entire hospital system was compromised.
He waited until Victoria’s black sedan pulled out of the parking garage and disappeared into the city traffic.
David knew he couldn't use his own car because it probably had a tracker on it.
He carried Lily down the dark alley behind the hospital, keeping to the shadows.
They needed a place to hide, a place Victoria didn't know about.
He thought of his old college roommate, Marcus.
Marcus lived in a quiet suburban neighborhood on the other side of town.
David used the last of his cash to hail a passing taxi.
Lily sat quietly in the backseat, her hands gripping David's jacket.
She finally looked up at him with exhausted eyes.
She whispered that Victoria had been forcing her to swallow special blue vitamins every morning.
Lily said the vitamins always made her legs feel like they were stuffed with heavy cotton.
Today was the first day she had managed to spit the pill into the sink.
David felt a sickening wave of guilt for never noticing the abuse happening right under his roof.
The taxi dropped them off at the end of Marcus’s dimly lit street.
They walked to the house and David knocked frantically on the heavy oak door.
Marcus answered in his pajamas, looking shocked but ushering them inside immediately.
He locked the deadbolt and led them into his warm, dimly lit living room.
David collapsed onto the sofa, completely exhausted.
He started explaining the nightmare they were running from, trusting his old friend completely.
Marcus listened with a deeply sympathetic expression, offering to go make some strong coffee.
As Marcus walked into the kitchen, David leaned back and closed his eyes.
Lily tugged urgently on his sleeve.
She pointed a trembling finger at the large, ornate Persian rug covering the living room floor.
May you like
David looked down at the dark red and gold patterns woven into the fabric.
It was the exact, custom-made rug that used to sit in Victoria’s private study back home.
