Chapter 23 - Sanctuary
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Rain battered the windows of my father’s house late that night when the doorbell rang violently.
My father grabbed a heavy golf club from the hall closet, while Samuel motioned for me to stay behind him. He looked through the side window before pulling the door open.
Standing on the porch, drenched in rain, was Nora Vance.
Her face was bruised near her left eye, and she was clutching a small duffel bag to her chest, shivering violently in the cold night air.
“Nora?” I exclaimed, stepping past Samuel. “What happened to you?”
“Mom found out I gave the police the clock drive,” Nora sobbed, falling to her knees on the entryway rug. “She... she attacked me, Emily. And then Victor came home. He took my car keys, my credit cards, everything. He said I was a traitor to the family.”
I rushed forward, kneeling beside my former tormentor, and wrapped a warm blanket around her shoulders.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, helping her up. “You’re safe here.”
My father looked at Nora with mixed emotions, but his natural paternal instinct won out. He walked into the kitchen and returned with a hot mug of tea and a ice pack for her face.
“Why did you come here, Nora?” Samuel asked gently, sitting across from her at the kitchen table.
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Nora took a shaky sip of tea, her hand trembling. “Because I realized today that if Victor destroys Emily, he’ll turn on me next. He’s already talking about putting Mom in a nursing home so he can liquidate her estate to pay his legal fees.”
She looked up at me, tears streaming down her bruised cheek. “He’s a monster, Emily. He doesn't love anyone. Not me, not Mom, no one. I want to help you send him away forever.”
