Chapter 3

Footsteps faded down the corridor outside. 

I scrambled up. My right wrist was chained to the radiator pipe, but the heavy steel chair beside me wasn't bolted to the floor. Desperation taking over, I wrenched the chair violently back and forth until a rusted weld snapped, yielding a solid steel leg. 

Jamming the metal bar behind the radiator pipe, I threw my entire weight against it. 

The old valve groaned, hissing steam as the pipe bent outward just enough. 

I yanked my arm hard, dragging the locked cuff over the broken edge of the pipe. It tore the skin on my hand, but I was free.

The adjacent exam room was unlocked. Maeve huddled on the paper-lined examination bed, shivering.

I scooped her into my arms, covered her mouth to keep her quiet, and climbed out the ground-floor window into the freezing rain.

We ran blindly through the wet grass. The storm soaked through our clothes in seconds. My lungs burned with every breath.

'Was I crazy?' The thought crept in briefly. 'Did I hurt my own daughter and black out?'

I touched Maeve’s cheek. She leaned into my palm, trusting me entirely. No. I wasn't crazy. The earring proved it. Desmond, Valerie, the Sheriff—they were all in on it. And I was going to tear their entire plot apart.

I didn't run toward the wealthy suburbs. I didn't go to any neighbors. I needed someone on the absolute fringe of this town. Someone who didn't play by their rules.

I dragged us toward the municipal landfill.

At the end of a dirt access road stood a rusted mobile trailer attached to the county morgue. It belonged to Corbin, the disgraced medical examiner. The rest of the town treated him like a leper due to his heavy drinking. Tonight, that made him my only hope.

I pounded my fists against his metal door.

Corbin opened it. He wore a stained gray undershirt. A heavy scent of cheap bourbon and sterile formaldehyde rolled off his skin. His eyes were bloodshot and tired.

"Please," I gasped, wiping the rain from my eyes. "They're trying to kill us."

Corbin didn't ask questions. He looked at me, then at the trembling child in my arms. He stepped aside.

I sat at his cluttered kitchen table. I didn't hold anything back. I told him about the antique shop, Desmond’s sudden violence, Valerie’s betrayal, and Callahan locking me to the radiator.

Corbin poured a deep glass of amber liquid. He took a slow sip, his expression entirely neutral.

"Let me see the choker," he said.

I hesitated. My pulse hammered in my ears. I gently pulled Maeve’s damp collar down, exposing the red stone.

Corbin leaned in over the table. He studied it. He didn't gasp. His face didn't contort into a mask of pure hatred. He just gave a small nod and leaned back.

"You put that on her yourself, didn't you?"

My muscles locked. I pulled Maeve flush against my chest, ready to bolt for the door. Every single person who had asked that exact phrase turned into a monster seconds later.

Corbin raised his hands, palms open. "Relax, Rosalind. I'm not going to jump you."

I stared into his bloodshot eyes. They were completely calm.

"Yes," I whispered. "I put it on her."

Corbin smiled. It wasn't friendly, but it wasn't vicious either. It was the smirk of a man who knew a terrible secret.

"The root of your problem," Corbin said, swirling the liquor in his glass, "is that you told them. You admitted the action."

"What does that mean?" I demanded.

"It means you brought this down on yourself. Because you bought the choker."

I stared at him. The adrenaline drained from my veins, replaced by a bitter, hollow disappointment.

"That's a useless answer," I snapped, my voice rising. "Obviously I bought it!"

"Is it obvious?" he asked quietly.

I dropped to my knees. The wet grit on his linoleum floor soaked right through my jeans. I grabbed his rough, calloused hand.

"Please. You are the only person who hasn't tried to kill me." Tears mixed with the rainwater on my face. "Name your price. I have a massive family trust fund. I will give you every single cent I own. Just tell me why my husband wants me dead over a piece of jewelry!"

Corbin looked down at me. The smirk faded. He sighed heavily, gripping my shoulders and pulling me back to my feet.

"I gave you the only right answer," Corbin said. "You just haven't looked closely enough at this town."

Flashing red and blue lights suddenly swept across the dirty window blinds. Tires spat gravel outside as heavily armed deputies shouted over the blaring sirens, growing louder by the second.

Corbin’s demeanor shifted instantly. He lunged forward and snatched Maeve from my arms.

"No! Give her back!" I screamed, lunging at him with everything I had.

"Stop fighting me!" Corbin shoved me back with his free arm, pinning me against the wall while keeping Maeve securely in his hold. "Listen to me! They're hunting a 'violent, crazy mother.' If they find you out there holding her, they will shoot right through this kid to get to you!"

"I am not leaving my daughter!" I sobbed, thrashing against him. Maeve started to cry, terrified by the noise and my pure panic. "Give her to me!"

"If she stays with me in the county morgue, she becomes state responsibility. Callahan’s boys won't dare execute a child in front of me on my cameras. But if she goes out that door with you, you both die in the mud. Is that what you want?"

I froze. His brutal logic pierced through the haze of my terror. The sirens were deafeningly close now. I looked at Maeve, my heart physically aching in my chest. 

"It's okay, baby. Mommy's going to fix this. I'll come back for you, I promise," I choked out, pressing a kiss to her tear-streaked forehead. 

Corbin didn't give me another second. He grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the back door of the trailer. 

He threw the heavy door open. The storm raged outside. Freezing rain lashed against my face.

"Go!" he yelled over the wind.

I clawed at the doorframe, digging my shoes into the threshold, my eyes fixed on my sobbing little girl. Leaving her felt like amputating a limb, but staying meant her death. 

"Swear to me you won't let them hurt her!" I screamed, tears blinding me. "Give me your word!"

Thunder boomed overhead. Corbin grabbed the doorframe and leaned in. His face was inches from mine. 

"I swear it," he said firmly.

Then, over the deafening roar of the storm, he spoke directly into my ear. Just a handful of words.

"What?!" I froze.

Before I could process the shock, Corbin shoved me into the dark alley and slammed the door shut.