We did it. But that was just the beginning. The scariest thing that was still to come was the reason. Why would the man I loved want to get rid of his family?
I had time to consider things through while Eli was safe next door at Mrs. Leverne’s. I was about to lose it, but I couldn’t allow fear take me. I was feeling a lot of things at once: betrayal, worry, and confusion. How could Jared, the man who once cradled Eli as a baby and cried tears of joy, hurt us so badly?
The clock rang loudly in the quiet house as I went around the living room, my mind racing. The microwave’s computerized numbers flashed in the dark, making me feel like time was running out. I had to find out. I had to find out.
I remembered the old laptop that Jared said was too old to be usable and that I had put away in the hall closet. The password was easy to remember because it was the date of our wedding and Eli’s birth year. I had to give it a chance, even though it was a long shot.
When the laptop turned on, it made a whirring sound and the screen flickered while it loaded. I browsed through a lot of folders, and my heart raced with each one. Then I found it: a folder with the scary name “Project Phoenix.”
The data made reality look like a scary jigsaw puzzle. There are two lives for Jared. He was in a hidden club that dealt in lies and secrets, a world of spying and betrayal. It was a world where problems that had been bothering people for a long time finally got solved.
Now everything becomes sense. The late hours, the phone calls that came out of nowhere, and the trips that came out of nowhere. But why us? Why his family?
There was a paper buried deep in the archives that terrified me. It was a ledger of debts and assets, with people who were deemed to be useless. There was the phrase “compromised” next to our names, which was glaring back at me.
I felt terrible. My husband had let us down. For what? Money, power, and safety? It didn’t matter what the reasons were. He had chosen his side, and survival was the most crucial thing.
I need to act quickly. Jared will soon realize that his plan hadn’t worked. I closed the laptop, and my willpower grew stronger. I had to do everything I could to protect Eli. There wasn’t time to think about how sad or deceived I was.
I took a few things I needed and left the house to go back to Mrs. Leverne’s. She was a blessing, offering her warmth and shelter without asking questions. I knew it wouldn’t last long. We had to disappear, to become ghosts in the air.
When I saw the fear and trust in Eli’s eyes, I swore to keep him safe. The route ahead was unclear, but one thing was clear: I was determined to win this perilous game.
As I walked away from my old life, I let go of the things that were holding me back. I was no longer just a wife or mother; I was a warrior ready to fight for the only thing that mattered now: our future.
