Chapter 6 - The Bathroom Escape
Clara feigned compliance, her shoulders slumping as if the weight of Marcus’s words had finally broken her spirit. She took a slow step forward, extending the leather journal outward in her trembling hands as if offering it to him on a silver platter. Marcus’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, but his professional arrogance kept him from anticipating the explosive desperation of a cornered mother.
The moment Marcus reached out to snatch the book, Clara hurled the heavy leather-bound ledger directly into his face.
The sharp corner caught him squarely across the bridge of his nose with a sickening crunch. Marcus staggered backward, cursing loudly and stumbling against the edge of the vanity, clutching his bleeding nose. That single second of disorientation was all Clara needed. She spun around, sprinting across the room toward the king-sized bed where Maya slumbered on undisturbed.
Scooping the baby and her protective pink blanket into her arms in one fluid, desperate motion, Clara didn’t hesitate. She bypassed the hallway door entirely, heading straight for the adjoining master bathroom, a sprawling marble-tiled sanctuary that featured a heavy frosted-glass window overlooking the backyard patio.
Behind her, Marcus roared with anger, the sound of heavy footsteps slamming against the floorboards signaling his recovery. “Clara! Open this door right now, or so help me god—”
Clara slammed the heavy wooden bathroom door shut, throwing the internal deadbolt just as Marcus’s shoulder slammed into the exterior wood with a tremendous crash that splintered the frame. The wood groaned under the sustained assault, spiderweb cracks spreading outward from the lock.
Ignoring the splintering door, Clara rushed to the large garden tub, stepping directly onto its polished marble rim to reach the frosted window latch. Her bare feet slipped slightly against the damp stone, but she caught her balance, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She threw the latch upward, pushing the heavy window outward into the cool afternoon air.
Below her, the backyard stretched out toward a dense treeline bordering the suburban property, but more importantly, Evelyn’s black sedan was parked empty in the driveway on the side of the house. There was no sign of Evelyn, but the garage side door stood ajar.
A deafening splintering sound echoed behind her as Marcus finally broke through the bathroom door, the wood shattering inward in a cloud of dust and debris. He stepped through the wreckage, blood smeared across his upper lip, his face twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated malice.
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Clara didn't wait. Clutching Maya tightly to her chest, she hoisted herself up onto the window sill, closed her eyes, and threw herself backward out into the open air.
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