Chapter 1
Mimi POV
Baby bag? Check.
Tony’s clothes in the car? Check.
Tony’s food? Check.
Water purification system? Check.
Both of my phones, laptop, desktop, and all three TVs? Check.
Tony’s shoes and medical equipment? Double check.
I exhaled shakily, gripping the steering wheel as I mentally checked off the list.
“Okay,” I whispered to myself, though the words trembled on my lips. “Now all that’s left… if they can fit… are my clothes and personal things.”
I scanned the nearly packed car, space shrinking by the second. Medications, important documents, hygiene products, jackets, and shoes. Essentials. I couldn’t forget those.
Then, the final step: wiping out my credit cards and draining every last cent from my accounts. I needed to disappear completely. No trails. No mistakes.
The car sat ready, its license plates cloaked under a sticker designed to fool police scanners—a trick I learned from my ex-husband. He thought I wasn’t paying attention all those years, but I learned more than he realized. Funny how abuse sharpens your senses. Survival turns into a skill.
I turned back to the house, after I had buckled Tony into his car seat. He looked up at me with those wide, innocent eyes, quietly fiddling with the toy in his hands. He didn’t understand why we were leaving. He didn’t need to.
“I’ll be right back, baby. Stay here, okay?” I kissed his forehead, and he barely reacted, lost in his own little world.
Back inside, I moved quickly. My hands were robotic—stuffing clothes into bags, yanking open drawers, snatching up bottles of medication. Hours passed in a blur. The house, once filled with our lives, now stood hollow, stripped of warmth.
My phone buzzed on the counter. News alerts. I tapped it on, half-distracted.
“Authorities believe the shooting was in retaliation linked to the victim’s first wife. However, they have yet to confirm whether the widow or the ex-wife is connected to the incident.”
My stomach twisted.
Me. They were talking about me.
I gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, my knuckles white. My breath turned shallow.
Of course, they’d point fingers at me. I was the ex-wife. The one who “ruined his life”—or so he liked to claim. Never mind the years of abuse, of harassment, the relentless accusations, the emotional whiplash he put me through. He couldn’t even make the effort to understand Tony, to know his own son’s needs, his triggers, his comfort zones.
But his new wife? Laila. She was worse. Manipulative in ways my ex couldn’t begin to comprehend. She smiled in public, played the loving stepmother, but behind closed doors, she wanted my son—my Tony—as her own.
No. I wouldn’t let her. Not now. Not ever.
A cold clarity settled in my chest. I needed to act fast.
Grabbing one of the burner phones, I powered it on and began working quickly. I uploaded a malicious program, one designed to infect Laila’s phone if she ever tried to dig into my personal data. Pictures, messages, locations—all of it would vanish in a blink. If she thought she could track me or keep any image of my son, she was dead wrong.
I wasn’t the same woman she thought she could push around.
A soft whimper snapped me out of my thoughts.
Tony.
I rushed back to the car. He shifted restlessly in his seat, murmuring under his breath. I gently rubbed his shoulder.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here.”
But was I? Really? I felt like a ghost of the mother I wanted to be. But ghosts survive by haunting the edges, slipping through cracks, unseen. That’s what I had to do now.
Disappearing wasn’t just an option—it was survival.
I climbed into the driver’s seat, gripping the wheel. The house loomed behind me, dark and cold.
No more looking back.
The engine roared to life, and I pulled onto the road, vanishing into the night.
The city lights flickered in the rearview mirror, swallowed by the darkness of the highway. The quiet hum of the engine was the only sound, interrupted occasionally by Tony’s soft breathing in the backseat.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, focusing on the road ahead. The four credit cards in my purse felt heavier than ever.
Get to the bank. Pull everything. Disappear.
My phone buzzed sharply in the cup holder. I snatched it up, my heart lurching.
It was my mom.
“Mom?”
“Mimi, what the hell is going on?” Her voice was tense, her words clipped.
“What?” I blinked, confused.
“I just heard the news! They’re saying the shooting might be connected to his ex-wife. They’re talking about you!”
Her words hit me like a punch.
I swallowed hard. “Mom, listen to me. I’m on my way to the bank. I need to pull out all my money. I’m getting Tony and me as far away as possible. Laila is going to try and take him. I know it.”
There was a long pause on the other end. I could almost hear her mind racing.
“Mimi, hang up and call me back in two minutes,” she ordered, voice steady now.
“What? Why?”
“Because I’m not stupid. You think they aren’t listening? You think Laila doesn’t have people watching the phones? Just do it. Like we used to when your father was after us.”
Her words dragged up old memories I’d buried deep. Mom knew exactly what it took to disappear. She’d done it before.
“Okay. I’ll call you back.”
I hung up, my grip on the steering wheel tightening.
One minute.
Two.
I dialed again.
“Mimi?”
“I’m here.”
“Good. Now tell me exactly what you’re going to do.”
“I’m emptying all my accounts. I’ve packed everything Tony needs—food, clothes, his medical stuff. Once I have the money, I’m gone. I don’t know where yet.”
Silence. Then a long, tired sigh.
“You need to be smart, Mimi. Don’t rush. People make mistakes when they panic.”
“I have to do this. Laila’s going to come for Tony. She won’t stop.”
Her voice softened. “I know, baby. I know. Just… call me after the bank. We’ll figure it out together.”
“I will.”
I ended the call and focused on the road ahead. The bank came into view—bright lights cutting through the dark.
Inside, everything felt surreal. I barely spoke to the teller. One by one, each card was drained. The cash stacked into envelopes.
It wasn’t everything I had, but it was enough. Enough to run.
Back in the car, I exhaled slowly. Tony shifted in his sleep.
I started driving, aimless now, my mind racing.
Then I saw it.
A crooked For Sale sign, barely visible through overgrown trees.
I slowed the car.
It pointed down a narrow dirt road, almost swallowed by the woods.
I stared at it for a moment, then grabbed my phone.
“Mom?”
“What now?”
“I just passed this For Sale sign. It’s… hidden. Leads down some dirt road. Feels off, but… maybe it’s something. Maybe it’s where we can hide.”
My mom was silent for a beat.
“Mimi, don’t do anything stupid. You don’t know who owns it.”
“I know, but… maybe it’s fate. No one would think to look for me here.”
“Mimi, listen to me. That’s how people get caught. You need to think this through.”
I hesitated, staring down the road.
“Mom… you disappeared once too. You know how this works. Sometimes, you have to take risks.”
That hit her.
Another pause.
“Fine. But show me first.”
I propped the phone up and slowly turned onto the dirt road. Trees pressed in around me, shadows thickening.
Then, the trees parted, and I saw it.
A massive estate, weathered but still standing tall. Stone walls, towering windows, ivy curling up the sides.
It looked… forgotten.
My mom’s breath caught.
“Oh my God…”
“I know. It’s perfect. No one would think to look here.”
“Mimi… I don’t know. It’s big, but it feels… wrong.”
“I’m going to call the number. Just to see.”
“Mimi—”
“I’ll be careful.”
I dialed the number from the sign.
A man answered. His voice was rough, disinterested.
“Yeah?”
“I’m calling about the house on Briar Ridge Road. Is it still for sale?”
A pause.
“Cash only. No hagglin’.”
“I can pay upfront.”
His tone shifted. “Alright. Meet me tomorrow morning. I’ll bring the papers.”
After sleeping in my car uncomfortably. The next morning, Mom helped me finalize the sale. She signed the documents electronically, trusting me because she knew what it meant to need a safe place.
The payment went through.
It wasn’t all my money, but it was enough.
