Chapter 21 - The Woman on the Porch
The cabin emerged through the pine trees like a dark silhouette against the gray dawn.
It was an old stone-and-timber structure, surrounded by dripping hemlocks and thick undergrowth. Parked in the gravel driveway was a sleek, black Mercedes sedan with diplomat plates.
Isabella was sitting on the wooden steps of the wrap-around porch, wrapped in a threadbare trench coat, her knees pulled to her chest. She looked ten years older than the immaculate, sneering woman who had once stood in the hospital hallway with a red heel hovering over my wife's hand. Her makeup was smeared, her hair matted from the rain.
As our SUV ground to a halt on the wet gravel, the front door of the cabin opened.
Catherine stepped out.
She was dressed in a tailored cashmere coat, completely unbothered by the damp mountain air. In her right hand, she held a porcelain teacup. In her left, a legal manila folder.
"Don't get out, Mark," Khloe whispered, her fingers digging into my arm. "Look at her. She isn't afraid of us."
"She isn't afraid because she thinks she’s already won," I said.
I unbuckled my seatbelt, reached under the driver's seat, and pulled out the tire iron I’d loosened at the gas station. I tucked it inside the waistband of my jacket, behind my back.
"Stay locked inside. If I give the signal, hit the gas and drive straight to the state police barracks in Peekskill. Don't look back."
"Mark—"
"Promise me, Khloe."
She swallowed hard, looking down at Nathan, who was finally fast asleep. "I promise."
I opened the door and stepped out into the cold mountain rain. The gravel crunched under my boots as I walked toward the porch. Isabella looked up at me, her eyes hollow, brimming with guilt.
"I tried to stop her, Mark," Isabella choked out. "She was already here when I arrived."
Catherine took a deliberate sip of her tea, setting the saucer down on the porch railing with an elegant clink.
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"Save the theatrics, Isabella," Catherine said smoothly, her eyes locking onto mine. "Good morning, Mark. You look exhausted. Raising an infant will do that to a man. Especially an infant whose time is rapidly running out."
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