Chapter 5 - THE ESCAPE
Ethan shoved past me and sprinted toward the stairs.
"Grace!" I screamed, turning on my heels and sprinting down the hallway behind him.
I burst into the nursery, scooped Lily out of her crib, wrapped her firmly in a fleece blanket, and grabbed my diaper bag off the chair. As I reached the top of the staircase, I saw Ethan violently kick open the study door.
Grace stumbled out of the study, holding the locked iPhone in one hand and a heavy brass letter opener in the other. She had pried the desk drawer open by force.
"Ethan, stop!" I screamed, hurling myself down the stairs.
Amanda burst out of the kitchen, her eyes widening as she saw the blue ledger tucked under Grace's arm and the broken desk drawer inside the study. "Ethan! She has the book! Don't let her leave with that book!"
Ethan lunged at Grace, grabbing her by the shoulder and slamming her against the wooden banister. Grace gasped in pain, but she held onto the phone and the ledger with a fierce, stubborn grip. She swung her elbow backward, catching Ethan squarely in the nose. He let out a yell, staggering backward, blood spurting over his lip.
"Run, Nora! Get to the garage!" Grace shouted, pulling herself up.
Amanda charged at me, her hands clawing toward the blanket wrapped around Lily. "Give me that child! You are an unfit mother! You're insane!"
Desperation and wild adrenaline took over. As Amanda reached for me, I raised my foot and kicked out with everything I had, striking her squarely in the chest. Amanda gasped, lost her footing on the polished hardwood floor, and crashed backward into a heavy glass-topped foyer table, sending decorative porcelain shattering across the tiles.
"Grace, the side door!" I yelled.
Grace sprinted past the fallen Amanda, hitting the crash bar of the side garage door. It flew open into the cool night air.
Ethan was recovering fast, wiping the blood from his face, his eyes maniacal. "You're not leaving this property!" he roared, giving chase.
We burst out into the dark driveway. The night air was freezing, mist hanging thick in the forest surrounding the house. Amanda’s heavy Mercedes SUV was parked directly behind my Volvo, blocking it in.
"The keys!" I yelled in panic. "Ethan has my keys!"
"Take mine!" Grace shouted, pulling a ring of keys from her pocket. Her beat-up ten-year-old Honda Civic was parked further down the gravel driveway, outside the electronic gate boundary near the main road.
"Run!"
We sprinted down the long, winding gravel driveway in the pitch dark, the sharp stones biting through my thin slippers. Behind us, I could hear Ethan’s heavy footsteps slamming against the gravel, his breath ragged, his voice shouting threats into the darkness.
"Nora! If you step off this property, I swear to God I will call the police and tell them you kidnapped her!"
Lily began to cry, frightened by the sudden movement and the cold air. I pressed her head close to my chest, whispering frantic prayers as my lungs burned.
Grace reached her Civic first, unlocking the doors with a sharp chirp. She threw the back door open, helping me secure Lily into the portable car seat frame we had grabbed from the hall.
Ethan burst out of the tree line, barely twenty yards behind us.
"Get in!" Grace screamed, diving into the driver's seat.
I leapt into the passenger seat and slammed the heavy door shut just as Ethan reached the vehicle. He slammed his fists violently against the driver's side window, the glass spider-webbing under the impact.
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"Open the door! Open the damn door!" he screamed, his bloodied face contorted in rage.
Grace slammed the gear shift into reverse, hit the gas pedal, and the tires shrieked against the asphalt. The car jolted backward, throwing Ethan off the side. He tumbled onto the gravel, shouting curses into the night as Grace spun the wheel, flipped the headlights on, and tore down the dark county road into the safety of the night.
