Chapter 6 - THE FINAL ESCAPE
He looked up from the paper.
His face was no longer just angry; it was carved out of stone.
"You told me she died in that accident," Mark whispered.
The woman took two steps backward, her hands trembling so violently she couldn't clasp them together.
"Mark... listen to me..."
"You told me she left us!" he roared, stepping toward her.
He pulled his phone from his dark trousers with his trembling thumb, hitting the emergency speed dial.
The woman didn't wait.
She turned and bolted toward the open doorway, her black heels clicking furiously as she fled into the street.
Mark didn't chase her.
He stood in the center of the warm, sunlit hallway, holding his sobbing daughter against his neck with one arm and the truth in his hand.
"Emergency services, what is your location?" the speaker crackled.
Mark spoke into the phone, his voice steady and low.
"I need an immediate arrest warrant for kidnapping and fraud."
He dropped the phone onto the sofa and wrapped both arms tightly around his daughter.
Lily buried her face into the curve of his shoulder, her white bunny squished safely between them.
"Is Mommy coming home?" she whimpered softly.
Mark pressed his lips against the red mark on her little arm, tears finally spilling over his eyelids.
May you like
"Yes, baby," he whispered. "We're going to go get her."
THE END
