CHAPTER 3- The Escape

The bus driver is turning around. I stand up and walk to the front.

"Where are we going?"

He doesn't look at me. "Scheduled stop."

"We're supposed to be going west."

"Sit down, miss." Hand on his phone. My face on screen. $50,000.

"Let me off."

"Can't stop until the next station."

"Let me off the fucking bus!"

He slams on the brakes in the middle of nowhere. "Fine. Get off."

I grab my bag and run into the trees. Branches scratch my face. Mud everywhere. Red and blue lights flash. I run faster. Lights scream past on the highway. Then I can't see them anymore. My foot catches and I fall hard. Face in dirt.

My hand is on my stomach. "Please be okay," I whisper.

I keep moving. An hour later, I see lights, a truck stop, big rigs, and a diner. I stay in the trees for a while, then I cross the parking lot fast. I find a bathroom to wash off the mud, but it doesn't help. I see a trucker getting into a cab. Big guy. Gray beard.

"Excuse me. I need a ride. I can pay."

He looks at the mud on my shoes. "Where to?"

"Montana."

"Are you in trouble?"

"I need to get somewhere. I have money."

He shakes his head. "I don't pick up hitchhikers."

"Three hundred dollars. Cash." I say.

He stops. "Five hundred."

"I don't have—"

"Good luck, miss." He starts climbing in.

"Wait. Okay. Five hundred."

"Let me see it."

I pull out five hundred. He takes it. "I'm going to Billings. You bring trouble, I leave you on the road. Clear?"

"Clear." The cab smells like burned coffee and cigarettes. Vinyl sticks to legs.

"I'm Dale."

"Lena."

"You want to tell me what you're running from?"

"No."

"Fair enough."

He drives in silence. The night Caleb said I love you, we were on his balcony. City lights below. "I know it's fast. Three months. But I love you, Lena Hart. And I'm terrified you'll leave."

I told him I wasn't going anywhere. I lied. He said the view made him feel small. That his problems didn't matter when he looked at all those lights. I said that's what I loved about him. Billionaire CEO who could still feel small. He kissed me. Said I made him feel big in the ways that mattered. I believed him. Now I'm running from him, and he thinks I'm a liar.

"Where in Montana?" Dale asks.

"Small town. I don't know the name. A friend set it up. Work at a diner."

Eyes heavy. "Four hours to Billings."

He stops for gas. Dale goes inside. I stay. Through the window, I see my face on a TV. Dale looks up, his face changes.

My heart stops. "So," Dale says. "That news story about the fugitive mother. That's you."

I don't answer.

"Fifty thousand dollars."

"You can let me out."

"Relax. I'm not turning you in. I have a daughter. Got pregnant at nineteen. The guy left her. Told everyone she was trying to trap him." He glances at me. "She's doing okay now. Kid's five. But it was rough."

"Thank you."

"That reward's going to have every trucker looking for you. Got a plan?"

"Not much of a plan," I say.

"Billing is bad. Too many people. I got a buddy who runs a motel outside town. Small. He doesn't ask questions. I can drop you there."

"Why are you helping me?"

"I have a daughter. I saw that video. I know enough."

We drive three more hours. Dale talks about his daughter. How she struggled. How people judged. How she built a good life.

"She's tough. Like you."

"I'm not tough."

"You're still moving. That's tough enough."

He pulls off the highway, late afternoon. The motel is small, old, and in the middle of nowhere.

Dale goes to the office, then comes back. "Room twelve. Paid for the week. The guy's Bill. Told him you're my niece."

"You didn't have to—"

"Yeah, I did." Hands me the key. "Bill won't ask questions. Stay in your room. Find a doctor who takes cash. Get that baby checked."

"I will."

"Good luck."

I walk to room twelve. Small room. One bed. Dripping shower. I lock the door, pull the curtains, and then I lie down.

"We made it," I whisper.

Sleep comes fast. I wake up to a knock. It's still dark. My heart pounds.

"Who is it?"

"Lena, it's Eleanor. Caleb's aunt. I need to talk to you. I'm alone."

Eleanor. The one who warned me at the family dinner. Saying he loves hard, but he breaks things when he's afraid. I should've listened.

I look through a peephole. A woman in her sixties. Kind face. Caleb's eyes. I open the door, and she steps inside.

"I'm sorry to come like this. But I needed to find you before he does."

"Before who?"

"Caleb. He's been looking for you for three months. Hired investigators. He's desperate. And desperate men make dangerous choices."

Stomach drops. "How did you find me?"

"I have friends. I've been tracking you since you left because I knew he'd find you eventually. I wanted to get here first."

"Why?"

She sits on the bed. Tired. Sad. "Because you need to decide something. Are you running from him? Or from yourself? From what you're afraid to feel?"

"I'm running because he destroyed me. Called me a liar. Tried to pay me off."

"I know. I watched that video. What he did was unforgivable. But Lena, you need to understand something. He's spent his life watching his mother manipulate his father. Watching his father's affair nearly destroy their family. He's terrified of being trapped. When Sienna showed him that evidence, every fear came true at once."

"That doesn't make it okay."

"No. But it explains it. The man I've watched these last three months is not the same man from that gala. He's broken. He knows what he did. He knows what he lost."

Tears burn. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because when he finds you, and he will, you need to decide what you want. Do you want him to leave you alone? I'll help you disappear. Do you want to hear what he has to say? Be ready. But you can't keep running forever with his baby and no plan."

She pulls an envelope from her purse. Set it on the bed.

"Ten thousand dollars. Cash. No strings. If you want to disappear, this helps. If you want to stay and face him, get a lawyer. Either way, it's yours."

I can't move. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because I warned you once, and you didn't listen. You ignored me, and look what happened. This time, I'm not warning you. I'm giving you a choice."

She stands up."He'll be here soon. Days, maybe a week. Decide what you want before he arrives. Once he's standing in front of you, it'll be too late to think clearly." She leaves.

I stare at the envelope. Ten thousand dollars. A choice. I splash water on my face. I see a photo lying on the floor. Me at the truck stop. I turn it over.

“YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER”