Chapter 6 - THE ESCAPEEverything happened at once.
The front door shook.
Someone hit it from outside.
Juniper screamed.
I grabbed her.
Claire moved toward the back entrance.
“Go!”
Willa was already unlocking the garage.
“Where?”
“Anywhere away from here.”
The front door cracked.
A man's voice shouted.
“Ethan! Open the door!”
I knew that voice.
One of my father's employees.
We ran.
Cold air hit my face as I carried Juniper into the garage.
Claire climbed into the driver's seat.
I got in beside her.
Willa jumped into the back.
The SUV reversed out before the garage door was fully open.
Gunfire cracked behind us.
Juniper buried her face against my chest.
I covered her ears.
Claire accelerated.
“Where are we going?”
“To a place your father doesn't know about.”
Twenty minutes later, we reached an abandoned farmhouse.
Claire killed the engine.
No lights.
No roads nearby.
Nothing but darkness.
Inside, she locked every window.
I finally turned toward her.
“You owe me the truth.”
She nodded.
“I do.”
“Start with the inhaler.”
Claire sat at the table.
“The original inhaler has a microscopic tracking device hidden in the casing.”
I stared.
“Why would anyone put a tracker in a child's medicine?”
“They didn't.”
“What?”
Claire looked at Juniper.
“They put it there after your father discovered the trust.”
My stomach twisted.
“Who put it there?”
“I did.”
I stared at my wife.
“You?”
“I needed to know where Juniper was.”
“You could have told me.”
“I couldn't trust you.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
“Why?”
“Because your phone was compromised.”
I looked at my phone.
Claire shook her head.
“It's not safe.”
She took a small evidence bag from her coat.
Inside was a tiny electronic device.
“I removed it from the inhaler three months ago.”
“Then why is Tabitha still stealing it?”
Claire looked at me.
“Because she thinks the tracker is still inside.”
A new silence fell.
Then Juniper spoke.
“Aunt Tabitha knows.”
We all turned.
“Knows what?”
Juniper looked at Claire.
“She knows Mommy is alive.”
Claire's face went white.
“What did she say?”
Juniper hesitated.
“She said Mommy would come back.”
“When?”
“After Daddy found the red box.”
Claire stood so quickly the chair fell backward.
“What red box?”
Juniper pointed toward me.
“The one Grandpa said Daddy would never find.”
I stared at my daughter.
“Where is the red box?”
Juniper's eyes moved toward Claire.
“Mommy has it.”
Claire froze.
“I don't.”
Juniper shook her head.
“You had it when you came back.”
Claire looked down at her coat.
Then her expression changed.
May you like
She reached into the inside pocket.
And pulled out a small red metal box.
