Chapter 4
The heavy oak doors of the master bedroom muffle the distant sounds of the estate, but they cannot keep out the heavy atmosphere of dread. Clara sits at the edge of the mahogany four-poster bed, holding a glass of ice water that rattles violently against her teeth. Daniel paces the length of the Persian rug, his mobile phone pressed tight to his ear as he tries to secure a private car to take them away from the mansion. The call goes straight to voicemail, adding to his mounting frustration. He tosses the phone onto the duvet and kneels in front of Clara, gently taking her cold hands in his.
"We’re leaving tonight, Clara," Daniel says quietly, his voice laced with urgency. "I should have never brought you back here after we married. I thought my mother could change, that family meant something to her. I was wrong."
Clara shakes her head, a tear finally breaking free and tracing a clean path down her dirt-streaked cheek. "She won't let us leave quietly, Daniel. You heard her on the balcony. She’d rather see me dead—and the baby gone—than let us walk away with a single cent of the estate or the family name intact."
Outside the heavy door, soft footsteps pause on the polished parquet flooring. Martha, having hastily changed into her fresh black maid’s uniform after scrubbing the rope marks from her skin, stands silently in the corridor. She holds a silver tray with a fresh towel and antiseptic, her duty compelling her to check on the victim, her survival instinct warning her to run. She raises her knuckles to knock, but hesitates as she overhears Daniel’s whispered plans of escape. Martha knows the security codes for the electronic gates; she knows every blind spot in the estate’s extensive camera surveillance system. Without her active cooperation, Daniel and Clara will never make it past the perimeter wall before Evelyn’s private security detail intercepts them.
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Martha gently pushes the door open just a fraction, catching Daniel’s attention. He stands up sharply, his expression defensive until he recognizes the young maid. Martha steps inside, closing the door softly behind her.
"You need more than a car, Mr. Daniel," Martha says in a low, steady voice, holding up the tray of medical supplies. "You need a ghost. And I know how to make you both disappear."
