Chapter 6
The cold night air hit David’s face like a physical blow as he pushed through the back French doors, carrying Lily tightly in his arms. The garden was dark, illuminated only by the pale, sickly glow of the security lights mounted along the perimeter fence. Behind them, the muffled shouts of Rachel and the state official echoed through the open doorway of the study.
"Mr. Miller! Stop right there!" Rachel’s voice shrieked from the patio, full of frantic panic. "If you take her off this property, it’s felony abduction!"
David didn't look back. He sprinted across the damp lawn, his white sneakers sliding slightly on the dew-covered grass. Lily buried her face in his neck, her small arms wrapped securely around his shoulders.
"Are we running away, Daddy?" she whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and excitement.
"We're going on an adventure, Lily," David panted, reaching the far corner of the garden where an old wooden maintenance gate led out to the municipal alleyway. "Just you and me. Trust me."
He shoved the gate open with his shoulder, the rusted hinges groaning loudly in the quiet night. They tumbled out into the narrow, unlit alley, the high brick walls of the neighboring estates cutting off the city lights.
A sleek black sedan was parked twenty yards down the alley, its engine idling softly. The driver's side window rolled down smoothly, revealing Arthur’s sharp profile in the dashboard light.
"Need a ride, David?" Arthur asked calmly, resting his arm on the open window frame.
David stopped dead in his tracks, pulling Lily back against his chest. "Stay away from us, Arthur. I know you're behind all of this."
Arthur chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "If I wanted you caught, David, the state official wouldn't be standing at your front door looking confused right now. Get in the car before Rachel realizes which way you ran."
"Why would you help us?" David demanded, his instincts screaming that this was a trap. "You want the property, you want the trust fund, and you wanted Lily out of the way!"
"I want my family back together on my terms, not Rachel's selfish design," Arthur said, his tone turning surprisingly sharp. "Open the back door. We have less than ten minutes before the local police patrol turns down this block."
Lily looked up at David, her eyes wide with tearful uncertainty. "Daddy, is that the man from the house?"
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David weighed his options in a fraction of a second. The front was blocked by state authorities, the alley was a dead end without a vehicle, and Arthur held the only key to undoing the legal nightmare Rachel had constructed.
With a grimace, David pulled the back door open and slid into the leather interior of the sedan, pulling Lily in beside him.
