Chapter 608:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

She wanted to call Garrett, but it was the middle of the night in New York, and he had an “important meeting” tomorrow. She couldn’t disturb him.

She thought about contacting Clarence, or the head of security, Sid Sutton, but her phone suddenly displayed “No Service.”

She went to the window and saw the local cell tower swaying violently in the storm. The severe weather must have knocked out the signal.

Now she was completely cut off from the outside world.

In the entire, massive safe house, she was alone. Just her and the baby.

𝘍ind ոо𝘃el P𝖣𝘍ѕ 𝗈𝘯 𝘨aln𝗈v𝘦ls.𝗰оm

A sense of isolation and helplessness she had never known washed over her, mixed with a surge of anger and disappointment. She hated Nina for her irresponsibility, but she hated her own powerlessness even more.

She locked all the doors and windows, went back to her bedroom, and wedged the heavy chair firmly under the doorknob. She curled up on the bed and wrapped herself tightly in the comforter, but the chill running through her had nothing to do with the temperature.

Another flash of lightning, and the entire house went dark. The power was out.

Amelia let out a small, sharp gasp. The backup generator hadn’t kicked in.

The darkness amplified every sound: the wind, the rain, and the frantic, pounding beat of her own heart. She fumbled for her phone and switched on the flashlight. The weak beam offered a sliver of comfort.

That was when she heard it. A sound that didn’t belong, coming from inside the house in a lull between the thunder and the wind.

Creak.

It came from downstairs. The sound of a footstep on an old wooden floorboard.

Amelia’s blood ran cold. She held her breath, straining to hear.

The storm was too loud. Maybe she had imagined it.

She gripped her phone, her palm slick with cold sweat.

Then she heard it again, clearer this time.

Footsteps. Slow, heavy, unhurried footsteps, coming from the direction of the staircase. One at a time, making their way toward her bedroom.

Someone was in the house. On a night like this, with the storm raging and communications down, a stranger had breached the fortress that was supposed to be “absolutely safe.”

A giant, icy hand of fear clamped around her throat. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.

Her mind was a blank slate of terror. Her only thought was to protect her child.

She remembered the emergency panic button Clarence had given her, telling her to keep it on her person at all times. She searched the nightstand frantically, but her fingers found nothing. She’d left it in the bathroom when she took her shower.

The footsteps were getting closer. They were in the hallway now.

Amelia scanned the room in desperation, looking for a weapon. A lamp? Too light. A vase? It would shatter on impact.

Her eyes landed on the heavy, solid wood chair wedged under the doorknob.

The footsteps stopped. Right outside her bedroom door.

Whoever stood on the other side seemed to be listening, confirming her location. The silence was absolute, broken only by the thunder outside.

.

.

.