Chapter 14 - The Morning After
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I returned to my house just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pale pink and gold.
The front door had been temporarily patched with plywood by the police maintenance team. Inside, the house was silent and empty.
I walked into my bedroom, stood in front of the full-length mirror, and unzipped my wedding dress. It fell to the floor in a heavy, ruined heap of silk, lace, and dried alley mud.
I kicked it into the corner of the closet, pulled on a pair of comfortable faded jeans and an old grey sweatshirt that had belonged to Mark, and walked into Sophie's bedroom.
She was fast asleep in her small bed, clutching her stuffed rabbit, her breathing soft and rhythmic.
I sat on the edge of her mattress, stroking her hair. She looked so innocent, so blissfully unaware of how close her future had come to being stolen away by the men who were supposed to protect her.
My phone buzzed softly in my pocket.
It was a text message from an unknown number.
May you like
“Clara. It’s Evan. I’m using my one phone call from the county jail. You think you won tonight, but you have no idea who I owe that money to. They know where you live. They know where Sophie goes to daycare. You need to drop the charges, or they will come collect what I owe them from you.”
My heart stopped beating.
