Chapter 10 - The Escape
Mark didn't wait to see the barrel level at his chest. Survival instinct, pure and electric, took absolute control. He spun around, moving faster than he ever had in his life. He scooped Lily up into his arms, clutching her tightly against his side, and bolted for the open white door.
He heard a sharp, mechanical click behind him—the terrifying sound of a hammer being cocked—but he didn't dare look back. He sprinted blindly across the threshold, bursting out into the blinding, sweltering afternoon sun. His boots slammed mercilessly against the concrete pavement as he vaulted over the porch railing. He didn't stop running. He tore down the street, weaving between parked cars and neighborhood fences, his lungs burning and his hands shaking violently as he fumbled for his phone to dial 911. As the distant, approaching wail of police sirens began to cut through the quiet suburban air, Mark collapsed behind a neighbor's heavy oak tree, holding his daughter so tight it hurt. He knew their lives had just been violently rewritten, but as he felt Lily's racing heartbeat against his own, he thanked God he had listened to the instinct that brought him home.
