Chapter 3 - Flight into the Fog
As the man turned back inside to search the house, I whispered into Lily's ear, "Lily, look at me. We have to run to the main road. Can you do that for Mommy?"
Lily nodded bravely. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, but she didn't utter a single sound. We crept through the interconnected backyards of the neighborhood, using the thick morning fog as a shroud.
When we reached the main avenue, I didn't dare call a rideshare app; Derek had access to our shared accounts and could track my location in real-time. Just then, a city bus pulled up to a stop about a hundred yards away. Without thinking, I grabbed Lily’s hand, ran as fast as my legs could carry me, and slipped through the doors just before they hissed shut.
We collapsed into the back row of the empty bus. My chest heaved as I stared out the window. A minute later, I watched Derek’s black SUV slowly cruise past the bus stop, searching the sidewalks. The hitman had lost us. For now.
I pulled out my phone. The screen lit up with three missed calls from Derek and a text message: "Morning sweetheart, just landed. Are you and Lily awake? Make sure to lock the doors."
Reading those deceitful words made my stomach turn with absolute revulsion. I immediately powered off the device, popped the SIM card out, and dropped it into the small trash bin on the bus. I knew my phone harbored a family tracking app that Derek had insisted I keep on "for my safety."
We got off the bus in a bustling commercial district downtown, choosing a place crowded with people and surveillance cameras to blend in. Using the meager cash I had in my wallet, I bought a cheap burner phone and a prepaid SIM card from a convenience store.
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"Where are we going, Mommy?" Lily asked, her large eyes heavy with exhaustion.
"We're going to get help, baby. And I'm going to keep you safe, I promise." I held her close, my mind racing. There was only one person I could trust: my older brother, Marcus, a former homicide detective who now worked as a criminal defense attorney.
