Chapter 7
Elena arrived within twenty minutes.
She listened quietly while I told her what I had seen. She didn't dismiss me. She didn't say I was imagining things.
"They have resources," she said. "Money. Family connections. Private investigators. He is desperate enough to use them."
"He found me," I said, hugging my arms around myself. "It's only a matter of time before he comes here himself."
"We will increase security," she said. "New locks. Alarm system. A patrol car will pass the house regularly. But we must also consider moving you again. Immediately."
"I just unpacked," I said, my voice cracking. "I just started to feel safe."
"I know," she said gently. "But safety matters more than comfort. If they have located you, this place is no longer a refuge."
That night, I packed again.
I folded clothes while my son slept. I listened to him breathe and wondered how many times I would have to run. How many homes I would have to leave behind. How long until I could stop looking over my shoulder.
Before dawn, we moved.
This time, much further. To a village bordering moorland. Isolated. Quiet. Few visitors.
The house was small. Stone walls. Thick front door. High hedges all around.
Elena installed a panic button beside my bed. She gave me a direct number to the police station, answered twenty-four seven.
"If you see anyone you recognize," she said, "press the button. Do not hesitate. Do not wait to be sure."
I nodded. But fear had settled deep now.
I kept the curtains drawn. I only went out when accompanied. I memorized every car that passed, every person who walked past the gate.
Two weeks passed. Then three.
No sign. No cousin. No husband. No mother-in-law.
Elena told me perhaps they had lost the trail. Perhaps they had decided it wasn't worth the effort. Perhaps the evidence we had filed had made them cautious.
But I knew my husband.
He didn't quit. He plotted.
May you like
And as the court date drew near, I understood his strategy. He wasn't coming to snatch my son. He was waiting for me in court.
He would try to destroy me there, publicly, legally. And then he would take everything.
