Chapter 9 - The Safe House|
By four o'clock that afternoon, Catherine was discharged from Northwestern Memorial.
She didn't leave in Michael’s black Maybach. She didn't have his guards clearing the private exit. Instead, Rachel drove her old sedan around to the rear service bay, where Daniel helped Catherine into the back seat, carefully securing Claire’s car seat into the center anchor.
"Where are you going?" Daniel asked, leaning through the rear door window, his coat pulled tight against the late-afternoon chill.
"My sister has a small house near Fairmount Park," Catherine explained, holding a small blanket over the car seat. "It’s under her maiden name. Michael doesn't even know it exists."
Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white card with a handwritten number on the back. He handed it to her through the window.
"That's my private cell," Daniel said. "If the baby develops a fever, or if you need anything at all—day or night—call me."
Catherine looked at the card, then up at his calm, steady face. "Thank you, Daniel. For everything."
"Take care of her, Catherine," he said softly, stepping back as Rachel pulled out into the Philadelphia traffic.
An hour later, they arrived at the Fairmount house—a small, two-story brick row home tucked away on a quiet, tree-lined street. It was simple, old, and completely hidden from the glamorous world of Chestnut Hill.
As Catherine carried Claire through the front door, her phone vibrated in her coat pocket.
It was an unknown number.
May you like
She hesitated, then tapped the screen and held it to her ear.
"Catherine," Amber’s voice purred through the line, cold and triumphant. "I hope you're comfortable wherever you ran off to. Michael just signed the order to freeze your personal bank accounts."
