Chapter 1 - THE RED LIGHT
Jason forced the running drill into my hands and drove the spinning bit toward my thigh.
“Press harder!”
The motor screamed louder than I did.
His bruised knuckles crushed my wrists while the drill bit ripped through my jeans and scraped the skin beneath. I twisted sideways on the bed, wrapping one arm around my six-month pregnant belly.
“Please, Jason.”
“Say it.”
His breath struck my face.
“Say you lied to the police.”
“I didn’t.”
His jaw clenched.
The drill dropped another inch.
Pain burned through my leg.
I screamed and kicked both feet into his chest.
Jason stumbled backward, but he kept hold of the drill. The cord wrapped around his ankle as he slammed into the baby crib beside the bed.
The empty crib rocked violently.
He looked at it.
Then at me.
“You think that baby protects you?”
I crawled backward across the mattress, both arms covering my stomach.
“You’re never touching my baby.”
His expression changed.
For one second, the rage disappeared.
Something colder replaced it.
“You should’ve kept your mouth shut.”
He charged.
The drill rose over his shoulder.
I saw the spinning bit.
I saw his empty eyes.
Then the bedroom door exploded inward.
Wood splintered across the floor.
Two men in dark tactical jackets rushed through the opening and separated with practiced precision.
Jason spun toward them, still gripping the drill.
“Who the hell are you?”
Neither man answered.
One moved toward Jason.
The other moved toward me.
Jason’s face drained of color.
He took three steps backward.
The drill lowered without him noticing.
I stared at the strangers through tears.
They were not local police.
No uniforms.
No badges visible.
No shouted commands.
Only silence.
The man nearest me held one hand open.
“Emily, stay still.”
He knew my name.
Jason heard it too.
His fear sharpened.
“You can’t be here.”
The first man finally revealed a federal badge.
“Drop the drill.”
Jason looked toward the window.
The agent closest to him shifted immediately, cutting off the escape.
“Don’t.”
Jason tightened his grip.
The drill motor kept whining.
I noticed the baby monitor on the dresser.
Its red recording light was blinking.
Jason followed my eyes.
His expression cracked.
He had forgotten it was there.
The second agent saw it.
He removed the monitor carefully and checked the display.
The screen showed a live recording counter.
Jason lunged.
The first agent slammed him into the wall before he took two steps.
The drill hit the floor and spun in a violent circle.
I curled around my stomach.
The second agent knelt beside me.
“Are you injured?”
“My baby.”
“We have medical support downstairs.”
Jason struggled against the wall.
“You don’t understand what she did.”
The agent tightened the restraint around his wrist.
“No, Mr. Reed.”
He looked at the blinking baby monitor.
“We understand exactly what you did.”
Jason stopped fighting.
That terrified me.
He looked directly at me and smiled.
It was small.
Private.
The same smile he used whenever he had already prepared the next lie.
“You think they came to save you?”
I stared at him.
He leaned closer as the agent pulled him away.
“They came because of your father.”
I stopped breathing.
My father had been dead for eighteen years.
Then the baby monitor played a voice no one in that room expected to hear.
May you like
My mother’s.
“Emily, if Jason finds the files, run.”
