Chapter 6 - THE PURSUIT
Arthur grabbed the files from his desk and shoved them into a safe. "Take the back stairs. There’s a service exit on the ground floor. It leads to an alley. I’ll hold them off."
"I’m not leaving you," I said.
"Adrian, go! They want Caleb and the evidence. If they don’t find you here, they won’t hurt me. Go!"
I looked at Arthur. At his determined face. At the headlights flashing below the window.
I took Caleb’s hand. "Come on, buddy. We have to go."
We ran. Down the back stairs, our footsteps echoing in the concrete stairwell. Caleb didn’t complain. He just held my hand tighter and ran.
We burst out into the alleyway. It was pouring rain. Clara was right behind us.
"This way!" she shouted over the rain.
We ran through the dark, narrow alleyways. I could hear voices behind us. Shouts. Footsteps. They had seen us.
"Over here!" Clara pulled us behind a large dumpster just as two men ran past the alley entrance. They were big, wearing dark clothes, carrying flashlights.
I pressed my hand over Caleb’s mouth to keep him quiet. He trembled against me, but he didn’t make a sound.
The men’s footsteps faded.
Clara stood up slowly. "We need to get to the safe house. It’s not far. We can walk."
We moved through the shadows, sticking to the darkest corners of the streets. Every car that passed made us freeze. Every shadow looked like a threat.
Caleb tugged on my hand. I knelt down.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Are the bad men going to find us?"
I looked into his eyes. Eyes so full of fear, yet still trusting me completely.
"Not if we’re careful," I said. "And even if they do… I will never let them take you. No matter what."
Caleb nodded solemnly. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, silver key.
"Vanessa had this too," he whispered. "I took it from her pocket. It’s for a box."
I took the key. It was heavy, engraved with Emily’s initials.
"This is Mommy’s key," I breathed.
"She was looking for the box," Caleb said. "Just like she was looking for the letter."
I clenched the key in my fist. There was more. Emily had hidden more than just a letter. She had hidden a box. And Vanessa knew about it.
We reached the safe house an hour later. It was a small apartment in an old building, owned by a friend of Clara’s. Quiet. Unmarked. Secure.
Clara locked the door and bolted it. Then she turned to me, breathless.
"What now?"
May you like
I placed the key on the kitchen table beside the adoption papers and Emily’s letter.
"Now we find out what else Emily hid," I said. "If Vanessa and Marcus want it this badly… it must be something that can destroy them completely."
