Chapter 3 - The Whisper Through the Wood
For a terrifying second, there was no response from inside the room.
Then, I heard the faint rustle of fabric, followed by a trembling gasp.
"Mom?" Chloe's voice cracked, sounding incredibly small and frightened.
"I'm here, sweetheart. I'm right outside," I whispered, pressing my hand flat against the cold wood.
"Oh my God, Mom, you have to leave! He's crazy, he's completely lost his mind!"
"I am not leaving without you, Chloe. Are you hurt?"
"No, just bruised. He shoved me when I found his hidden folders in the safe."
Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them away; there was no time for crying.
"Listen to me carefully, Chloe. Marcus is sending the police, but I need to get this padlock off before they arrive."
"You can't, Mom! He bought that lock for the storage unit; it's solid steel."
I looked at the heavy brass mechanism, realizing she was right.
My steel flashlight wouldn't even dent it, and smashing it would alert Derek instantly.
"Where is the key, Chloe?" I asked, my brain working in overdrive.
"It's on his main key ring. He keeps it clipped to his belt loop."
Getting the keys off a hostile, desperate man was a suicide mission for a woman my age.
"Okay, change of plans," I whispered, my voice steady and resolute.
"I am going to find another way. Just stay away from the door and be ready."
Suddenly, the heavy tread of Derek's footsteps sounded on the bottom of the staircase.
"Chloe!" he yelled up the stairs, his voice laced with manic irritation.
"The lawyer is coming early. You better be ready to sign those papers, or I swear to God..."
I didn't wait to hear the rest of his threat.
I threw myself backward, sliding into the adjacent guest bathroom and pulling the door shut just as he reached the landing.
I crouched in the bathtub, pulling the shower curtain across to conceal myself.
The darkness of the tub felt like a coffin.
Derek's heavy boots stopped right outside the bathroom door.
He jiggled the handle of the master suite.
"Are you crying in there?" he mocked cruelly.
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"Save the tears, Chloe. Your precious mother is probably baking cookies right now, completely oblivious."
If only he knew how close I was, and what I was prepared to do.
