Chapter 4 - The Black Knight
I dropped the phone onto the wet asphalt as if it had suddenly caught fire.
I looked up frantically at the towering brick wall of the hospital.
On the fourth floor, a dark silhouette was standing by an open window, staring directly down into the alley.
I didn't wait for him to move.
I ran blindly into the chaotic, neon-lit city streets, blending into the thick evening crowd of commuters.
My mind was racing completely out of control, trying to formulate any kind of survival plan.
I needed cash, a secure burner phone, and a safe place to hide my vulnerable newborn.
I remembered the secret safety deposit box I had secretly opened at a private bank downtown before I got pregnant.
I had hidden exactly fifty thousand dollars in emergency cash there, just in case I ever needed to vanish.
I hailed a passing taxi, promising the skeptical driver my expensive gold necklace in exchange for the ride.
We arrived at the heavily guarded private bank just ten minutes before closing time.
I practically begged the vault manager to let me access my box, citing a severe family emergency.
He led me deep into the underground vault, his eyes lingering judgmentally on my bloody bare feet and hospital gown.
He unlocked his side of the heavy steel box, and I inserted my small brass key.
I pulled the long metal drawer out and carried it into the private viewing room, locking the door securely behind me.
I opened the lid of the metal box, fully expecting to see the thick stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
The box was completely empty.
There was no cash, no fake passport, and no emergency credit cards.
Sitting in the exact center of the cold metal floor was a single, intricately carved wooden chess piece.
It was a black knight.
It was the exact same piece Julian used to play with whenever we sat in his study.
Underneath the small wooden horse was a neatly folded piece of expensive stationary.
I unfolded the thick paper with trembling fingers.
May you like
The handwritten message was short and absolutely terrifying.
“You can never outsmart me, Clara, but I am certainly going to enjoy watching you try.”
