CHAPTER 3- The Escape

The bus driver was already turning the wheel when I jumped up and hurried to the front.

“Where are we going?”

He didn’t even look at me. “Scheduled stop.”

“We’re supposed to be heading west.”

“Sit down, miss.”

His hand rested on his phone. My face filled the screen, $50,000 reward printed right underneath in bold letters.

My stomach dropped. “Let me off.”

“Can’t stop until the next station.”

“Let me off the fucking bus!”

He slammed on the brakes in the middle of nowhere. Tires screeched hard.

“Fine. Get off.”

I grabbed my bag and bolted out the door, legs shaking. I ran straight into the trees, branches slapping my face and arms. Mud sucked at my shoes with every step. Red and blue lights flashed in the distance behind me. 

My heart pounded as I pushed harder, breath coming in sharp, desperate gasps. The lights screamed past on the highway, then slowly disappeared.

My foot caught on something hidden in the dark. I crashed face-first into the dirt, pain shooting through my knee. One hand flew to my stomach.

“Please be okay,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Please.”

I forced myself up and kept moving, every step heavier than the last. An hour later, I spotted distant lights, a truck stop with big rigs lined up and a glowing diner sign. I stayed hidden in the tree line for a few minutes, catching my breath, then darted across the parking lot as fast as I could.

Inside the bathroom, I tried scrubbing the mud off my face and clothes, but it didn’t do much. I looked like hell. A big trucker with a gray beard was climbing into his cab when I walked up.

“Excuse me Mr… I need a ride. I can pay.”

He glanced down at the mud caked on my shoes. “Where to?”

“Montana.”

“You in trouble?”

“I just need to get somewhere safe. I have money.”

He shook his head. “I don’t pick up hitchhikers.”

“Three hundred dollars. Cash.”

He paused, one foot already in the cab. “Five hundred.”

“I don’t have—”

“Good luck miss.” He started to climb in.

“Wait. Okay. Five hundred.”

“Let me see it.”

I pulled out the bills with shaking hands. He took them, counting quickly.

“I’m going to Billings. You bring any trouble, I leave you on the side of the road. Clear?”

“Clear.”

The cab smelled like old burned coffee and cigarettes. The vinyl seat stuck to the backs of my legs.

“I’m Dale.”

“Lena.”

“You want to tell me what you’re running from?”

“No.”

“Fair enough.”

He drove in silence for a while. My mind kept slipping back to that night on Caleb’s balcony. City lights sparkling below us. The way his voice had gone soft when he said, “I know it’s fast. Three months. But I love you, Lena Hart. And I’m terrified you’ll leave.”

I’d told him I wasn’t going anywhere. What a lie.

He’d looked out at the view and said it made him feel small,  that none of his problems mattered when he saw all those lights stretching forever. I’d told him that was what I loved most about him, a billionaire CEO who could still feel small. 

He’d kissed me then, deep and slow, whispering that I made him feel big in all the ways that mattered. I believed every word. Now I was running from him, and he thought I was the liar.

“Where in Montana?” Dale asked, pulling me out of the memory.

“A small town. I don’t know the name yet. A friend set it up. I’ll work at a diner there.”

My eyes were getting heavy. “Four hours to Billings,” he said.

He stopped for gas a while later. Dale went inside while I stayed in the cab. Through the window, I saw my face flash across the TV behind the counter. Dale looked up. His expression changed.

My heart stopped.

“So,” he said when he climbed back in, his voice low, “that news story about the fugitive mother… that’s you.”

I didn’t answer, fear tightening in my chest.

“Fifty thousand dollars.”

“You can let me out right here if you want.”

“Relax. I’m not turning you in.” He glanced at me. “I have a daughter. Got pregnant at nineteen. The guy left her and told everyone she was trying to trap him.” His eyes flicked to my stomach. “She’s doing okay now. Kid’s five. But it was rough for a long time.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, throat tight.

“That reward’s got every trucker out here looking for you. Got any kind of plan?”

“Not much of one,” I admitted.

“Billings is too big. Too many people. I’ve got a buddy who runs a little motel just outside town. Quiet place. He doesn’t ask questions. I can drop you there.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“I’ve got a daughter,” he said simply. “I saw that video. I know enough.”

We drove another three hours. Dale talked about his daughter — how hard things had been for her, how people judged her, and how she’d still built a decent life anyway.

“She’s tough. Like you.”

“I’m not tough.”

“You’re still moving,” he said quietly. “That’s tough enough.”

He pulled off the highway late in the afternoon. The motel was small and faded, sitting right in the middle of nowhere. Dale went into the office, then came back with a key.

“Room twelve. Paid for the week. The guy’s name is Bill. I told him you’re my niece.”

“You didn’t have to—”

“Yeah, I did.” He pressed the key into my hand, his voice gruff but kind. “Bill won’t ask questions. Stay low. Find a doctor who takes cash and get that baby checked out.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“Good luck, Lena.”

I walked to room twelve, heart still racing. It was tiny, one bed, a dripping shower, wallpaper peeling at the edges. I locked the door, pulled the curtains tight, and collapsed onto the mattress.

“We made it,” I whispered, resting one hand gently on my stomach. “We’re safe… for now.”

Sleep came fast and heavy.

I woke to a sharp knock in the darkness. My heart instantly pounded against my ribs.

“Who is it?”

“Lena, it’s Eleanor. Caleb’s aunt. I need to talk to you. I’m alone.”

Eleanor. The woman who had warned me at that family dinner,  telling me Caleb loved hard but broke things when he was scared. God, I should have listened.

I peered through the peephole. A woman in her sixties with a kind face and Caleb’s familiar eyes stood there. I opened the door slowly. She stepped inside, glancing around the dim room with quiet concern.

“I’m sorry to show up like this,” she said, her voice gentle but urgent. “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.” She paused, eyes serious. “And desperate men make dangerous choices.”

My stomach dropped like a stone.

“How did you find me?”

“I have friends. I’ve been tracking you since you left because I knew he’d catch up eventually. I wanted to get here first.”

“Why?”

She sat on the edge of the bed, looking tired and sad. “Because you need to decide something, Lena. Are you running from him… or from yourself? From what you’re afraid to feel?”

“I’m running because he destroyed me,” I said, my voice cracking. “He called me a liar. Tried to pay me off like I was nothing.”

“I know. I watched the video. What he did was unforgivable.” She sighed softly. “But you need to understand something. He’s spent his whole life watching his mother manipulate his father… watching his father’s affair nearly tear their family apart. 

He’s terrified of being trapped. When Sienna showed him that evidence, every fear he ever had came rushing in at once.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“No. It doesn’t. But it explains it.” Her voice softened with quiet empathy. “The man I’ve watched these past three months isn’t the same one from that gala. He’s broken. He knows what he did. He knows exactly what he lost.”

Tears burned behind my eyes. “Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because when he finds you, and he will,  you need to be ready. Do you want him to leave you alone? I’ll help you disappear. Do you want to hear what he has to say? Then be prepared.” She leaned forward slightly. “But you can’t keep running forever with his baby and no real plan.”

She pulled an envelope from her purse and set it on the bed.

“Ten thousand dollars. Cash. No strings attached. If you want to disappear, this will help. If you want to stay and face him, get a lawyer. Either way, it’s yours.”

I couldn’t move, just staring at the envelope like it might burn me.

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because I warned you once and you didn’t listen. You ignored me, and look what happened.” Her eyes met mine, steady and kind. “This time I’m not just warning you. I’m giving you a choice.”

She stood up. “He’ll be here soon. Days, maybe a week. Decide what you really want before he arrives. Once he’s standing in front of you, it’ll be too late to think clearly.” She gave me one last gentle look and left.

The door clicked shut behind her. I stared at the envelope on the bed. Ten thousand dollars. A choice I didn’t feel ready to make.

I splashed cold water on my face, trying to steady my racing thoughts. When I turned around, a photo was lying on the floor near the door, a picture of me taken at the truck stop. With trembling fingers, I picked it up and flipped it over.

“YOU CAN’T HIDE FOREVER.”

The words stared back at me, cold and threatening. My breath caught in my throat as a chill ran down my spine. He was already closer than I thought.