Chapter 3 - RUNNING INTO THE DARK“We leave tonight.”
Francesca didn't hesitate.
“I have a cabin in upstate New York.”
Helen looked at her.
“A cabin?”
“Off-grid. No Wi-Fi. Almost no cell service. It's owned through one of my firm's shell companies.”
“Can they find it?”
“They shouldn't.”
“Shouldn't?”
Francesca's expression hardened.
“Helen, there is no such thing as completely safe anymore.”
That sentence stayed with Helen.
By sunset, they were packing.
No unnecessary clothes.
No sentimental objects.
No electronics that could be tracked.
Helen stood in Sarah's bedroom for several seconds before closing the suitcase.
She looked at the room.
The books.
The photographs.
The little lamp beside the bed.
A life they had barely begun rebuilding.
“Mom?”
Helen turned.
Sarah was standing in the doorway.
“Are we running again?”
Helen couldn't lie.
“Yes.”
Sarah nodded.
She didn't cry.
That frightened Helen more than tears would have.
They left Chicago after dark in Francesca's old Volvo.
The city disappeared behind them.
Streetlights became distant stars.
Sarah eventually fell asleep against the window.
Helen kept both hands on the steering wheel.
She refused to look in the rearview mirror for too long.
Because every pair of headlights looked like a warning.
Every dark sedan looked like a hunter.
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And every mile they drove made one question louder inside her mind.
How had they found them so quickly?
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