Chapter 10
A heavy, mechanical whir echoed from the attached garage on the opposite side of the mudroom wall. A second later, the deep, grinding groan of the main roller door lifting off the concrete floor vibrated through the foundation. The digital lockdown had failed to isolate the physical relay switches wired directly into the garage sub-panel.
Clara let out a ragged breath, stepping down from the storage bench just as the inner mudroom door began to turn. The knob rattled violently, followed by Julian’s muffled, furious voice from the kitchen corridor.
"Clara! Open this door right now! You are only making this infinitely worse for yourself!" Julian shouted, his calm demeanor completely shattered. The sound of his fists hammering against the solid oak panels echoed like thunder in the confined space.
Martha stepped forward, her face set in hard, unforgiving lines. She grabbed her leather handbag and pointed toward the open doorway leading directly into the echoing expanse of the concrete garage where her sedan sat idling under the sensor lights. "Go, Clara. Get in the car. I’ll hold him here for as long as it takes."
"Martha, you're coming with us," Clara insisted, catching the older woman’s arm. "You can't stay here with him alone."
"I am his mother," Martha said softly, a sad, weary smile touching the corners of her mouth. "He won't hurt me physically. But if I don't stay, he will chase you down the highway before you reach the county line. Go. Protect my grandson."
Before Clara could argue further, the interior door gave a tremendous splintering crack as Julian threw his full weight against the deadbolt. The wood around the strike plate shattered, showering the tiled floor with splinters of white paint and oak.
Clara turned and bolted through the open doorway into the garage, where Leo was already holding the rear passenger door of Martha’s sedan open for her. The boy’s face was pale, his small hands trembling as he urged her inside. Clara slid across the leather upholstery, pulling Leo in beside her and slamming the door shut.
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As the sedan’s engine roared to life and backed rapidly out into the sunlit driveway, Clara looked back through the rear window. Julian stood framed in the broken doorway of the mudroom, his blue shirt rumpled, his face twisted in a mask of raw fury, watching helplessly as his carefully constructed life drove away down the suburban street.
***
