Chapter 3 - THE GIRL WHO RAN
Mara Bennett spent the morning hiding inside an abandoned church.
She had not planned to come there.
She had simply run.
When she saw the key in Ethan's hand, she knew she had stayed too long.
When Caleb grabbed her wrist, she knew he recognized her.
And when the gunshots came, she understood that someone was willing to kill her.
The old church stood five miles from the ranch.
Mara sat beneath a broken stained-glass window, shivering beneath a borrowed blanket.
Her wrist was bruised.
Her clothes were still wet.
But none of that mattered.
She kept thinking about the three babies.
She had left them with Ethan because she knew they needed medical help.
She had also left because she was terrified.
Not of Ethan.
Of Caleb.
Three weeks earlier, Mara had been working the late shift at the Bluebird Diner when a man had entered through the back door.
She had recognized him.
Caleb Rourke.
He had been carrying a small metal case.
He had looked around before entering the storage room.
Mara had been hiding behind a stack of boxes.
She had heard him speaking on the phone.
“Everything is ready.”
A pause.
Then Caleb had said:
“No. The babies are the final problem.”
Mara had nearly screamed.
She had stayed hidden until he left.
The next day, she had told no one.
Because the next evening, a man had followed her home.
And he had whispered her name from across the street.
After that, Mara began watching the Whitmore Ranch.
She didn't know why.
Maybe because she felt responsible.
Maybe because she knew something terrible was coming.
Then, the night before, she had seen Caleb carry three bundled shapes out of the ranch house.
Three babies.
Mara had followed him.
She had watched him take them to the old storage room.
She had wanted to call the police.
But then she saw another man waiting near the barn.
A man she didn't recognize.
She had hidden.
And then she had heard the babies crying.
That was when she broke into the storage room.
She had found the triplets inside.
Their faces had already been red with fever.
The room had smelled strange.
Chemical.
Mara had grabbed the babies and carried them into the barn.
She had wrapped them in her coat.
Then she had waited.
Until Ethan arrived.
Now she had no idea what to do.
A car stopped outside the church.
Mara froze.
The door opened.
Footsteps entered.
She reached for the broken wooden chair beside her.
Then a familiar voice said:
“Mara?”
She lowered the chair.
“Lena?”
Her best friend stood in the doorway.
Lena rushed toward her.
“Oh my God.”
“Don't touch me.”
Lena stopped.
“What happened?”
“Did anyone follow you?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Mara looked toward the windows.
Lena lowered her voice.
“Everyone in town is talking about you.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“What are they saying?”
“That you kidnapped the Whitmore babies.”
Mara laughed bitterly.
“Of course they are.”
“Why were you there?”
Mara looked at her.
“Because I saw something.”
“What?”
Mara hesitated.
She had trusted no one.
But Lena had known her since childhood.
Finally, Mara whispered:
“Caleb Rourke took the babies.”
Lena's face went pale.
“What?”
“He took them from the house.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why didn't you tell the police?”
“Because he knows who I am.”
Lena stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Mara looked down at her bruised wrist.
“He knows about my father.”
Lena went silent.
Mara's father had disappeared twelve years earlier.
The official explanation was that he had left town.
Mara had never believed it.
The last person to see him alive had been Caleb Rourke.
And now, after all these years, Caleb had recognized her.
Mara reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small silver flash drive.
Lena stared at it.
“What is that?”
“I found it in the storage room.”
“What's on it?”
“I don't know.”
“Have you looked?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don't have a computer.”
Lena pulled out her phone.
“I can find one.”
Mara shook her head.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
Mara thought of one person.
Ethan Whitmore.
But she immediately rejected the idea.
He would never trust her.
And if Caleb was watching the ranch, going back would put her in danger.
Then Lena's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
Mara watched her.
Lena slowly lowered the phone.
“That was the hospital.”
Mara stood.
“What happened?”
“The babies are sick.”
Mara's heart stopped.
“What?”
“They said their condition got worse.”
Mara grabbed her coat.
“Where are we going?”
“To the hospital.”
“No.”
Lena stared at her.
“Mara—”
“If Caleb is watching them, the hospital won't be safe.”
She looked toward the church doors.
“He knows I saw him.”
Then a black SUV stopped outside.
Mara went still.
Lena whispered:
“Is that him?”
Mara didn't answer.
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Not Caleb.
A stranger.
He looked toward the church.
Then he reached inside his jacket.
Mara grabbed Lena's hand.
“Run.”
May you like
They fled through the back door.
Behind them, the church window shattered.
