Chapter 6
The discharge plan almost failed.
Marcus insisted on carrying Lily. Barbara insisted on pushing my wheelchair. They flanked me like guards as we walked out of the hospital.
But Donna had been clever.
"Mrs. Collins," she said, stopping us at the elevator. "The doctor wants to go over the baby's medication schedule with you. Just you, Mr. Collins. It'll take five minutes."
Marcus frowned. "Can't it wait?"
"I'm afraid not. The medication is time-sensitive."
He hesitated. Then he handed Lily to me. "Watch her," he said to Barbara. "I'll be right back."
He followed Donna down the hall.
The moment he was out of sight, Barbara turned to me. "I know what you're planning," she hissed. "But it won't work. Marcus will find you. He always does."
Before I could respond, two hospital security guards rounded the corner.
"Mrs. Collins?" one of them said. "Please come with us."
Barbara's eyes widened. "What is this? She's my daughter-in-law. She's coming home with us."
"Actually," a woman in a business suit said, stepping forward. "I'm from Adult Protective Services. We have reason to believe Mrs. Collins is in danger. She and the baby will be placed in a safe location."
"You can't do this!" Barbara screamed. "That's our grandchild!"
But the security guards were already moving me—wheelchair, baby, and all—toward a side exit. A car was waiting.
I climbed in, clutching Lily to my chest. The car pulled away just as Marcus came running out of the hospital, screaming my name.
I didn't look back.
The safe house was in a location I can't describe. It was small, but clean. There were other women there—women with stories like mine, women who'd escaped.
Lisa flew in from Chicago the next day. She held me while I cried. She held Lily while I slept.
And I started building my case.
The lawyer Lisa found was named Karen Reeves. She was tough, brilliant, and had a reputation for destroying men like Marcus.
"We have the recordings," Karen said, going through my evidence. "The journal. The photos of the bruising. Donna's testimony. The hospital records. It's good, Sarah. But we need more."
"More? What more could there be?"
Karen looked at me. "We need to find out what else he's hiding. The money he transferred. The lawyer he consulted. Men like Marcus—they always have secrets. And secrets are what take them down."
She was right.
While I was in the safe house, Karen filed for divorce. She filed for full custody of Lily. She filed a restraining order against Marcus and Barbara.
And she started digging.
What she found shocked even her.
Marcus hadn't just transferred our savings. He'd been embezzling from his company for years. Nearly four hundred thousand dollars.
And Barbara? Barbara had a record. Twenty years ago, she'd been charged with assault—against her own daughter-in-law from Marcus's brother's first marriage. The charges were dropped, but the police report was damning.
She'd done this before.
She'd driven another woman out of the family. Isolated her. Controlled her. And when she fought back, Barbara had physically attacked her.
"She's a predator," Karen said. "And Marcus is her enabler. They've been working as a team."
I sat there, holding Lily, and felt a cold anger rise in my chest.
They'd done this before. To another woman. And they would have done it to me—if I hadn't escaped.
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"They're not going to get away with it," I said. My voice was steady. Strong. "I'm going to make sure of it."
Karen smiled. "That's what I wanted to hear."
