Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18: The Staircase Incident
Two days later, the underlying tension violently shattered the peace of their home.
Danielle had run to the grocery store, leaving Mia and Amara home alone for what was supposed to be exactly twenty minutes. The front door was locked. The alarm system was engaged.
Mia was in the kitchen pouring a glass of water when the heavy, rhythmic pounding began at the front door.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Mom?" Amara called out from the living room, stepping toward the foyer.
"Don't open it!" Mia shouted, her older-sister instincts kicking in. She ran to the hallway window and peered through the blinds. Standing on the porch was the man from the boutique.
"Open the door, Amara. I have a message from your real family," the man's muffled voice seeped through the heavy wood.
Amara froze, the color draining from her face. The word "real" struck her like a physical blow.
Suddenly, the man abandoned the front door and moved to the side of the house. The sound of shattering glass erupted from the dining room. He had broken the side window.
"Run!" Mia screamed, grabbing Amara’s hand.
The girls sprinted for the stairs just as the heavy boots of the intruder hit the hardwood floor of the dining room. Adrenaline flooded Mia's system. They scrambled up the carpeted steps, their ragged breathing echoing in the narrow stairwell.
But in her panic, Mia’s foot caught the lip of the middle step.
With a sharp cry, Mia tumbled backward, her shin striking the hard wooden edge of the banister. She collapsed on the staircase, clutching her twisted ankle in agony.
The intruder stepped into the foyer, looking up at them.
Instead of running, little Amara turned around. She stood protectively in front of her injured older sister, her small fists clenched, her eyes blazing with a fierce, terrified defiance she had learned entirely from Danielle.
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Before the man could take a step up the stairs, the blinding sweep of headlights washed through the front windows, accompanied by the aggressive screech of tires in the driveway.
Realizing he was out of time, the intruder cursed, turned on his heel, and fled back out the broken window.
