Chapter 3: The Evacuation
The door slammed shut behind Beatrice and Lydia, leaving a ringing void in the quiet house. David did not waste a single second savoring the small victory. He knew his family’s influence; Beatrice had judges in her address book and deep roots in the city council. A psychiatric hold could be executed within hours if they mobilized the family lawyers.
He hurried back to the bedroom. Clara was weeping silently, tears tracking through the swelling on her cheek.
"David... please," she gasped, her voice cracked and hoarse. "Don't let them take her. They took the formula... they said I was unfit... they held me down while she cried..."
"Nobody is taking our daughter, Clara. Look at me," David said, lifting her gently into a sitting position. "Nobody touches you ever again."
He moved with rapid, military efficiency. He packed a single duffel bag with Clara’s warm clothes, her medical records, their marriage certificate, and the baby’s essentials. He lifted little baby Maya from the wicker basket, cradling her tiny head against his chest. The child stopped screaming, nuzzling against his neck with a soft, shuddering sigh.
"Can you walk, sweetheart?" he asked, wrapping a heavy cashmere cardigan around Clara’s shoulders.
"I have to," she whispered through clenched teeth.
Supported by David’s arm, Clara stood, swaying slightly as dizziness washed over her bruised skull. Step by step, they made their way down the service stairs to the rear garage, avoiding the front security cameras Beatrice monitored.
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David secured Maya into the rear-facing car seat of his unremarkable second vehicle—an older sedan he had kept from his college days. He settled Clara into the passenger seat with a blanket and a cold compress for her eye. As he backed down the alleyway, the iron gates of the estate loomed behind them in the rearview mirror like the bars of a gilded prison.
He didn't drive toward the corporate center or his downtown office. He turned south, toward the quiet farm country beyond the county line, where family names carried no currency.
