I don't remember deciding to move. One moment I was lying on that cold marble floor, listening to the engine fade into silence, and the next I was crawling toward the kitchen, dragging myself hand over hand along the cabinet fronts, every contraction sending fresh, blinding pain tearing through my body.

Two weeks after the night of my labor, the pressure on Ethan and Patricia reached absolute critical mass.

Stripped of their corporate positions, frozen out of their bank accounts, and facing overwhelming public condemnation, they were desperate cornered animals. And cornered animals always do something foolish.

It was a rainy Tuesday evening. Detective Miller had come to Danielle's safehouse to update us on the grand jury proceedings.

"The grand jury has officially indicted both Ethan and Patricia on charges of attempted murder by depraved indifference, felony false imprisonment, and grand larceny," Detective Miller told us, setting his coffee mug on the coffee table. "Their trial date will be set by Friday. They are currently out on a half-million-dollar bond each, but they are under strict electronic house arrest."

"They're staying at Patricia’s estate in North Hills?" I asked.

"Yes," Miller nodded. "They have ankle monitors. But Rachel... I need to warn you. Ethan’s psychological evaluation came back today. He shows severe narcissistic collapse. He believes his life is ruined entirely because of you, not because of his own actions. You need to remain extremely vigilant."

"We have security guards posted at the gate twenty-four hours a day," Danielle reassured the detective. "Nobody gets in here."

Just then, my phone buzzed on the table.

It was an unknown number.

I looked at Detective Miller, who immediately gestured for me to put it on speakerphone while he pulled out a small recording device.

I pressed answer. "Hello?"

"Rachel..."

It was Patricia’s voice. But it wasn't the polished, aristocratic tone she usually maintained. Her voice was slurred, ragged, and trembling with unhinged fury.

"Patricia," I said coldly. "You are violating your house arrest conditions by contacting me."

"You ruined us!" Patricia shrieked through the speaker, the sound of breaking glass audible in the background. "You ungrateful, pathetic little orphan! We took you in! We gave you a name! And you destroyed my son’s life!"

"You tried to kill me for my money, Patricia," I replied steadily. "You locked me in a house to die."

"Ethan didn't want to leave you!" Patricia laughed hysterically—a terrifying, metallic sound. "It was my idea! I told him you were worthless! I told him we could get the baby and the money without having to deal with you anymore! He listened to me because he knows who holds the power!"

Detective Miller’s eyes lit up. He silently pointed at the recorder, giving me a thumbs-up. She was confessing on a recorded line.

"Is Ethan there with you?" I asked, keeping my voice smooth and inviting.

"Ethan is a coward!" Patricia spit out. "He’s sitting in his room crying like a child because his precious company is gone! But I'm not finished, Rachel. You think you won? You think that baby is yours? I have people moving right now. You won't live to see that courtroom trial."

Click.

The line went dead.

"Trace that call!" Detective Miller snapped into his radio, jumping up from the sofa. "Units responding to North Hills estate, check on the suspects immediately!"

Within ten minutes, Detective Miller’s radio crackled with frantic reports from the officers stationed outside Patricia’s North Hills estate.

"Dispatch, this is Unit 4! We have a breach at the rear entrance of the property! Patricia Vance's ankle monitor has been cut! I repeat, ankle monitor cut! Ethan Vance is unaccounted for inside the residence!"

Danielle gasped, pulling me toward the back hallway. "Rachel, we need to get to the panic room!"

"They don't know where this safehouse is," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs, though my mind remained sharp and focused. "They cut their monitors because they're trying to flee the country."

"No," Detective Miller said, pulling his weapon from his holster. "Patricia isn't trying to flee. She’s coming here."

"How could she know where we are?" Danielle asked, terrified.

"Ethan's cousin works for the county utility department," I realized with a sudden, icy jolt. "He accessed the water activation records for new residential accounts last week..."