Chapter 2 - The Husband Who Never Needed Rescue
Vincent's eyes changed.
“Your husband?”
I nodded.
Another blow struck the door.
“Claire!” Evan shouted. “Open the door!”
Three days.
He had been gone three days.
Yet now he had returned with six black SUVs.
Vincent laid my newborn carefully against me.
“Keep the baby warm.”
Then he retrieved his handgun.
“Don't.”
He looked at me.
“That's my husband.”
“He just demanded your child instead of asking whether you're alive.”
I had no answer.
Vincent approached the window.
Outside, armed men stood behind the SUVs.
Evan was among them.
Clean coat.
Clean face.
No frostbite.
No injuries.
He had not spent three days lost in a blizzard.
Something inside me broke.
Vincent noticed.
“Did your husband know about this cabin?”
“Yes.”
“Who chose this route?”
“Evan.”
“Who packed the car?”
“Evan.”
“Who insisted you travel during a storm warning?”
My stomach tightened.
“Evan.”
Vincent looked toward the door.
“Then your vehicle didn't break down accidentally.”
Evan shouted again.
“Claire, Callahan is dangerous!”
Vincent almost smiled.
“At least he got one thing right.”
Then a tiny sound came from my blankets.
I froze.
Vincent turned.
Again.
Weak.
Small.
But unmistakable.
My baby whimpered.
“Oh my God.”
I started crying.
Vincent was beside me immediately.
The baby's little mouth opened.
A stronger cry followed.
Vincent closed his eyes for one second.
Relief.
Real relief.
Then Evan shouted:
“THE BABY, CLAIRE!”
Not our baby.
The baby.
Vincent heard it too.
He crouched.
“What's your maiden name?”
“What?”
“Your maiden name.”
“Mercer.”
He became completely still.
“Claire Mercer?”
“Yes.”
Vincent looked as though I had just pointed a weapon at him.
“What?”
Before he answered, glass shattered.
Vincent covered us as something landed on the floor.
Not a bullet.
A phone.
Its screen was already playing a video.
Evan appeared.
Recorded hours earlier.
He stood beside another man.
“Once she delivers,” Evan said, “we take the child.”
The other man asked:
“And Claire?”
Evan didn't hesitate.
“The storm handles Claire.”
I stopped breathing.
Then the camera shifted.
For half a second, another person appeared behind Evan.
An older woman.
Silver hair.
Elegant coat.
Vincent grabbed the phone.
His face lost all color.
“Who is she?” I whispered.
He stared at the screen.
“My mother.”
Outside, Evan began laughing.
“Now you understand, Callahan!”
Vincent slowly looked at my newborn.
May you like
And suddenly I realized this wasn't about Evan abandoning me.
Whatever had started tonight began long before I married him.
