623 "My husband thought the poison had killed us, so he called his accomplice to celebrate—but neither of them knew my son was still awake.

The house fell completely silent, but it was the kind of silence that pressed heavily against your ear drums. Through the crack in the bathroom door, I could hear Julian’s harsh, frantic breathing.

"Where are they?" he muttered, his voice stripped of all emotion. The faux-panicked tone he had practiced was completely gone, replaced by a cold, sharp rage.

His boots dragged across the floor as he walked into the center of the living room. I held Evan so tightly against my ribs that I was terrified I would bruise him, but my son didn't make a sound. His tiny body was shaking, his eyes wide as saucers in the dim light filtering through the bathroom window.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Julian was searching the dark hallway. He checked the closet near the entrance. Then he stopped right outside the guest bathroom.

My heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird. I squeezed my eyes shut, silently pleading with whatever universe was listening. I reached into my pocket and gripped the burner phone I had stolen, using it as a makeshift weapon if he broke through the door.

"Julian?" a sharp, whispered voice suddenly hissed from the front porch.

Julian paused inches from our door. He turned and marched back to the front entrance. "Clara? What the hell are you doing here?! I told you to stay at the hotel!"

My sister’s voice drifted in, low and urgent. "You took too long! I saw your car parked down the road and got nervous. Did you call 911 yet?"

"They're gone," Julian rasped, his voice full of rising panic. "Clara, they aren't on the floor. I left them right here on the carpet, but the living room is empty!"

"What do you mean empty?!" Clara’s voice pitched up into an anxious screech. "Did they wake up? Did you give them the full dose?!"

"I gave Evan the entire glass of juice! I watched Claire eat half her plate! They collapsed right in front of me!" Julian snarled. "Someone took them, or... or she dragged him somewhere."

"If she’s alive, Julian, we are finished!" Clara hissed. "Do you hear me? We go to prison for the rest of our lives!"

"Shut up and help me look!"

Their frantic footsteps scattered through the house. I knew this was our only window. Julian and Clara were heading toward the upstairs bedrooms, assuming we were hiding in the master bath.

"Evan," I whispered against his ear, my voice barely audible over the sound of my own thumping pulse. "When I open this door, we run to the back patio. Do not look back. Do not stop."

He nodded frantically.

I unlocked the bathroom door with a soft click. Grabbing Evan by the wrist, I pulled him out into the hallway. We ducked past the kitchen, staying low beneath the sightline of the windows. Up stairs, I could hear doors slamming and furniture being dragged as Julian searched our bedroom in a frenzy.

We reached the sliding glass door at the back of the house. I unlocked the latch, pushed the door open just enough for us to squeeze through, and slid out into the freezing night air.

We ran straight into the woods bordering our backyard. Thorns tore at my skin and ripped my clothes, but I felt no pain. My mind was burning with a single goal: survive.

Behind us, a high-pitched scream echoed from the master bedroom upstairs—Clara realizing we were gone for good.

We stumbled through the thick woods for twenty minutes until we reached the main county road. My phone had been left on the kitchen counter, but I still had the burner phone I took from under the sofa. I pulled it out, my fingers trembling violently as I dialed the only person in this city I knew I could trust.

Marcus Vance.

Marcus was an old family friend and a criminal defense lawyer who had known my late father. The phone rang three times before a deep, calm voice picked up.

"Hello?"

"Marcus..." I sobbed, my composure finally shattering into a million pieces. "It's Claire. He tried to kill us. Julian and Clara... they tried to poison us."

There was a sudden, sharp pause on the line. "Claire? Where are you right now?"