Chapter 9 - THE FIRST TIME I STOOD UP TO HIM
Derek answered my call immediately.
Almost like he had been waiting.
“Megan.”
His voice was different.
Softer.
Careful.
The same voice he used when he wanted something.
“We need to talk.”
“No.”
Silence.
“What?”
“I said no.”
He didn’t expect that.
“Megan, you need to calm down.”
There it was.
The phrase.
The one he always used.
Calm down.
As if my feelings were the problem.
I looked at Emily sleeping beside me.
“No, Derek. I spent years calming down.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I stayed quiet when I should have spoken.”
His breathing changed.
“Megan, you’re making a huge mistake.”
“No.”
I looked out the hospital window.
“The mistake was believing you loved me enough to change.”
Silence.
Then his voice became colder.
“You’re keeping my daughter from me.”
“Our daughter.”
“You don’t get to decide everything.”
I almost smiled.
Because that was the problem.
He actually believed he still had control.
“You’re right,” I said.
“Finally.”
“But you don’t get to decide everything either.”
He didn’t answer.
“I’m not hiding Emily from you.”
“Then tell me where you are.”
“No.”
His tone changed instantly.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Megan, don’t play games.”
“I’m not playing games.”
My voice became stronger.
“For the first time in years, I’m making decisions.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
I looked at my daughter.
“Yes, I do.”
Then I said the words I never thought I would say.
“I’m done being afraid of you.”
The line went silent.
Completely silent.
Because Derek had never heard those words from me before.
Finally, he whispered:
“Who is helping you?”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Someone is putting these ideas in your head.”
I closed my eyes.
Even now.
Even after everything.
He couldn’t believe I could choose myself.
“No, Derek.”
I looked at Rachel.
“She didn’t put these ideas in my head.”
A pause.
“I found them.”
The call ended.
For a moment, I just stared at the phone.
Rachel smiled.
“That was the first time.”
“What?”
“You didn’t ask permission.”
I looked down at Emily.
And I realized she had changed me before she was even born.
Then my phone buzzed.
A new message.
From an unknown number.
I opened it.
And my blood ran cold.
It was a photo.
A photo of my house.
Taken that morning.
Below it was one sentence:
“Derek isn’t the only person looking for you.”
I stared at the screen.
My heart started racing.
Because suddenly, this wasn’t just about leaving my husband.
May you like
Someone else knew where I was.
And they were watching.
