Chapter 6
Daniel lost everything in the next two weeks.
His job. His fancy apartment. His car, when the bank repossessed it.
His parents disowned him, after Mr. Hale called them to tell them about the embezzlement charges.
They moved to Florida and changed their phone numbers.
I got my $20,000 back, plus interest, from the firm.
Clara got a court order for temporary full custody of the kids, with Daniel allowed only supervised visits once a week.
He didn’t show up to the first one.
Or the second.
I thought maybe he’d given up.
I was wrong.
One night, I was at Clara’s small apartment, helping her pack to move into the bigger, safer place I’d helped her find with my inheritance money.
Lily and Milo were asleep in their room.
We were folding laundry on the couch, talking about the new job I’d gotten her at my best friend’s boutique, when there was a loud bang on the door.
We both froze.
“Clara!” Daniel’s voice, slurred, angry. “Open the door! I know you’re in there with that bitch!”
Clara’s face went white. She grabbed her phone, her hands shaking.
“I’m calling the cops,” she whispered.
Another bang, louder this time. The doorframe rattled.
“Open up!” he yelled. “I want my kids! You can’t keep them from me! I have rights!”
I stood up, quiet. I walked to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest cast-iron skillet I could find.
“Stay here,” I mouthed to Clara.
I walked to the door.
“Daniel, go away,” I called through the wood. “The cops are on their way.”
He laughed, a mean, ugly sound.
“Cops?” he said. “They can’t do shit. I’m their father. I can take my kids whenever I want. You think a piece of paper stops me?”
He kicked the door. Hard.
The lock cracked.
Clara gasped behind me.
I gripped the skillet tighter.
“Lily! Milo!” Daniel yelled through the door. “Daddy’s here! Come to Daddy!”
I heard a small cry from the kids’ room.
Lily ran out, her hair messy, her eyes wide with fear. Milo was right behind her, rubbing his eyes.
“Mommy?” Lily said, scared.
Clara ran to them, wrapping them in her arms, shushing them quiet.
The door kicked again. The lock broke all the way through.
The door swung open.
Daniel stood there, his clothes dirty, his eyes bloodshot, reeking of whiskey.
He saw the kids. His face twisted into a sick smile.
“There’s my babies,” he said, stepping inside.
He reached for Lily.
I stepped between them, the skillet raised.
“Take one more step,” I said, my voice steady, “and I’ll hit you so hard you won’t remember your own name.”
He stopped. He stared at me, the smile fading.
“You wouldn’t,” he said.
“Try me,” I said.
We stood there for a long second, staring each other down.
Then we heard the sirens.
Loud, getting closer.
Daniel’s face went pale.
He looked at the kids, at Clara, at me.
“This isn’t over,” he said, backing out the door. “I’ll be back. You’ll never be safe. Never.”
He ran into the dark just as the police cars pulled up outside.
I dropped the skillet on the floor. My arm was shaking so bad I could barely hold it up.
Clara was crying, holding the kids tight.
Lily looked at me, her eyes big.
“You saved us,” she said, quiet.
I walked over to them, knelt down, and wrapped all three of them in my arms.
“I’ve got you,” I said. “I’ve always got you. No one’s ever going to hurt you again. I promise.”
The cops came in, took our statements, promised to increase patrols around the apartment.
But I knew Daniel wasn’t bluffing.
He had nothing left to lose.
May you like
He’d come back.
And next time, he wouldn’t stop at just kicking down the door.
