Chapter 15 - The Boy in the Shadows
Chaos erupted beneath the splintered glass of the greenhouse before Eleanor's guards could advance three paces.
James threw the heavy iron tire iron with terrifying precision, smashing the lantern and plunging the room into darkness.
"Run, Claire!" James roared, throwing his entire weight into the chest of the lead security officer.
The sound of grunting men and shattering glass echoed violently in the pitch black.
Evelyn grabbed my wrist with surprising strength, yanking me toward a rusted service door behind the stone fountain.
"Move, Claire, or Eleanor will bury both of you in legal filings before dawn!" Evelyn yelled over the commotion.
I pulled back, trying to see through the gloom where James was wrestling the second guard on the floor.
"I am not leaving my husband!" I shouted back, fighting her grip.
"James can handle himself, but Hope needs that boy's umbilical cord blood to survive permanently!" Evelyn pleaded.
"If Eleanor locks that estate down tonight, the boy’s blood will never reach St. Jude’s!"
The maternal instinct within me eclipsed every fear, every hesitation, and every ounce of common sense.
I lunged through the rusted metal door into the biting rain, Evelyn right behind me.
We sprinted through the overgrown brush toward my station wagon parked half a mile down the unpaved logging road.
Behind us, gunshots cracked into the night sky, followed by the sound of shouting and revving engines.
I threw myself into the driver’s seat, slamming the locks down as Evelyn collapsed into the passenger seat beside me.
I jammed the key into the ignition, spun the tires through the mud, and rocketed out onto the paved highway.
"Where is the estate?" I demanded, wiping the rain and sweat from my eyes with the back of my hand.
"Greenfield Manor, three miles north of the county reservoir," Evelyn breathed, clutching her bruised ribs.
"Eleanor has four armed caretakers and a private pediatric team stationed in the east wing."
My phone began vibrating violently on the center console.
It was Liam.
I hit the speaker button with a trembling thumb.
"Mom! You have to come home right now!" Liam’s voice was cracked with adolescent panic.
"There are two police cruisers outside our house with their lights flashing!"
"A woman from social services is banging on the front door demanding to take Hope!"
"Liam, listen to me very carefully," I spoke with deadly, icy calm.
"Hope is not at the house, she is at St. Jude’s with Marcus."
"Do not open that door under any circumstances."
"Call our attorney, Mr. Gable, and tell him Eleanor Vance is attempting an illegal extrajudicial seizure."
"Mom, where are you?" Liam cried, the fear in his young voice breaking my heart in two.
"I am going to get your baby brother, Liam," I whispered into the phone.
May you like
"Stay strong for me, son."
I hung up the phone, pressed the accelerator to the floor, and veered into the dark winding roads of the mountain.
