Chapter 2 - The Hidden Account
Clara didn't move.
Lily's fingers tightened around her coat.
Gregory knocked once.
Not loudly.
That made it worse.
"Clara."
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
She looked at the laptop.
The agreement remained open.
Her father's signature stared back at her.
The document was dated three years earlier.
Gregory had promised to transfer $10,000 every month.
But there was something else.
The money wasn't described as a gift.
It was payment for "family mediation and personal support services."
Clara almost laughed.
The phrase was absurd.
Her parents had never provided Gregory with anything that resembled professional services.
They had provided him with silence.
She closed the laptop.
"Clara," Gregory said.
"Go away."
Silence.
Then he chuckled.
"You sound upset."
Lily began crying quietly.
Clara placed a finger against her lips.
Gregory spoke again.
"Open the door and we'll talk."
Clara stared at the lock.
She remembered his warning.
She remembered the pain.
But most of all, she remembered her mother's voice.
All men lose their tempers.
Clara suddenly realized she had spent years translating cruelty into excuses.
She picked up the laptop.
"Mommy," Lily whispered.
"We're leaving."
"But the door is locked."
"I know."
Clara walked toward the bathroom.
There was a narrow window above the bathtub.
It wasn't large.
But Lily was small.
Clara opened it.
Cold air rushed inside.
She looked down.
The bathroom was on the first floor.
The drop wasn't far.
She lifted Lily through the window first.
"Hold onto me."
Lily nodded.
Clara followed.
Pain shot through her ribs.
She nearly collapsed.
But she kept moving.
They landed in a snow-covered flower bed.
Clara pulled Lily into her arms.
The house remained quiet.
Then the bedroom window above them slammed open.
Gregory appeared.
His face was furious.
"Clara!"
She ran.
Every step hurt.
Snow soaked her shoes.
Lily clung to her neck.
Clara reached the side gate.
Locked.
She searched the fence.
Nothing.
Then she saw a small opening behind a hedge.
She pushed Lily through first.
"Go."
Lily crawled beneath the hedge.
Clara followed.
They reached the street.
A car passed.
Clara raised her hand.
It didn't stop.
Another.
Then another.
Her phone showed 1%.
She opened the contacts.
There was one name she had almost forgotten.
Mara Ellis.
Her former college roommate.
They hadn't spoken regularly in years.
But Mara had once told Clara:
"If you ever need somewhere to disappear, call me."
Clara pressed the number.
It rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"Hello?"
"Mara?"
Silence.
"Clara?"
"It's me."
Mara's voice changed immediately.
"What happened?"
"I need help."
"Where are you?"
Clara gave her the street.
Mara didn't ask questions.
"Stay there."
Twenty minutes later, headlights appeared.
A small blue sedan stopped.
Mara jumped out.
She looked at Clara.
Then Lily.
Then the injuries on Clara's face.
Her expression changed.
"Oh my God."
Clara shook her head.
"Please don't ask me yet."
Mara opened the back door.
"Get in."
They drove.
Clara watched Gregory's house disappear behind them.
For the first time that night, she could breathe.
But she knew escaping the house wasn't enough.
Gregory had money.
Connections.
Influence.
And her parents were on his side.
Mara glanced at her.
"Where do you want to go?"
Clara looked down at Lily.
"Somewhere he can't find us."
Mara nodded.
"I know a place."
They drove for another thirty minutes.
The car stopped outside a modest townhouse.
Mara unlocked the door.
"You can stay here."
Clara stepped inside.
The warmth nearly made her cry.
Lily immediately curled up on the couch.
Mara brought blankets.
Then she looked at Clara.
"You need a doctor."
Clara nodded.
"And a lawyer."
Clara looked at her.
"A lawyer?"
Mara's expression was serious.
"If Gregory is paying your parents, this isn't just a marriage problem."
Clara pulled the laptop from her bag.
"I found something."
She opened the document.
Mara read it.
Her face changed.
"What is this?"
"A payment agreement."
Mara scrolled.
Then stopped.
"Clara."
"What?"
"There are more pages."
Mara continued scrolling.
Clara leaned closer.
At the bottom of the final page was a clause.
A single paragraph.
Clara read it twice.
Her stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Mara looked at her.
"It means Gregory wasn't only paying your parents to stay quiet."
Clara's voice dropped.
"What else was he paying them for?"
Mara scrolled farther.
Then she stopped.
Her eyes widened.
"Clara..."
Before she could finish, Clara's phone vibrated.
A message had arrived.
Unknown number.
Three words.
YOU TOOK THE WRONG FILE.
Clara stared at the screen.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
