Chapter 4 - The Beautiful Cage
Returning to the sprawling Vance estate felt like stepping back inside a beautifully decorated coffin.
Julian had hired a team of private security guards, ostensibly to ensure my safety and comfort during the final weeks of my pregnancy.
In reality, they were highly trained wardens stationed at the gates and patrolling the grounds to make sure I never left.
I spent my days confined to the upstairs master suite and the adjoining nursery, completely cut off from the rest of the house.
The nursery was a stunning, magazine-perfect room filled with imported Italian furniture and hand-painted murals.
It was a beautiful cage for my unborn son, and the thought of him growing up here made my blood run entirely cold.
Every night, after Julian had his two glasses of scotch and fell into a heavy sleep, I would carefully retreat to the master bathroom.
I would turn the shower on full blast, letting the steam fill the room and the noise mask my voice.
Only then would I pull the burner phone from its hiding spot inside a hollowed-out jar of expensive bath salts.
My first call was to my best friend, Sarah, the one person Julian had tried hardest to eradicate from my life.
When she picked up and heard my voice, she immediately started crying, asking where I had been for weeks.
I quickly explained everything to her: the abuse, the fall, the hospital, and the guards surrounding the property.
Sarah didn't panic or tell me I was crazy; she immediately switched into survival mode, just like I knew she would.
"We need evidence, Clara, undeniable proof of what he really is," Sarah told me over the static of the cheap phone.
"He has heavily encrypted files in his home office safe, documents he handles manually when he thinks no one is looking," I replied.
"If you can get me those files, I can take them to the federal authorities and bypass the local police entirely," she promised.
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I turned off the shower, shivering in the cold air, knowing that breaking into Julian's safe was practically a suicide mission.
But as I placed my hand on my kicking belly, I knew I would gladly risk everything to guarantee my child's freedom.
