Chapter 7 - Headlights in the Mist
The roar of the truck engine grew deafeningly loud behind me, the twin beams of the headlights casting my long, trembling shadow far ahead down the empty asphalt road.
I threw myself off the road into the high, wet grass of the roadside ditch just as the pickup truck surged past at forty miles an hour, spraying gravel and muddy water over my legs.
The truck skidded to a violent halt thirty yards ahead, tires screeching against the pavement. Reverse lights flashed blindingly white, and the vehicle backed up at high speed, blocking the entire width of the narrow two-lane road.
The driver's side door flew open, and Mark jumped out, not even bothering to turn off the engine.
"Running away? Really, Elena?" Mark’s voice echoed across the quiet fields, cold and dripping with mocking disbelief as he started walking slowly toward the ditch where I lay cowering in the tall grass. "You think you can survive out here in the middle of nowhere with no shoes, no money, and half your clothes missing while you're five months pregnant? You're acting like a lunatic. Let’s go home."
"Stay away from me!" I screamed, scrambling backward through the wet weeds, my fingers snagging on thorny blackberry brambles that tore at my skin. "I'm not going back! I'll go to the police! I'll tell them everything about Clara!"
Mark stopped dead in his tracks.
The casual, mocking swagger vanished instantly. His entire body went rigid, his eyes narrowing into cold, venomous slits.
"What did you say?" he whispered, his voice dangerously low.
"I saw the box in the closet," I panted, tears streaming down my face as I clutched my belly. "I saw Clara's medical bills. I saw the diary. You didn't just terrorize me—you did it to her, too. And God knows what happened to her after she tried to leave."
Mark didn't deny it. He didn't blink. He just let out a slow, terrifying chuckle that sent a shiver straight down my spine.
"Clara was weak, just like you," Mark said smoothly, taking another step down into the ditch toward me. "She thought she could outsmart me, too. She ran to the county courthouse, filed for divorce, tried to take everything I worked for. And you know what happened?" He tilted his head, smiling coldly. "She realized nobody in this town believes the word of a hysterical woman over a respected local businessman. She packed her bags and left the state in the middle of the night, leaving everything behind. And that’s exactly what's going to happen to you, Elena. Except first, we're taking that trip to the northern cabin."
He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist before I could crawl away.
"Let go of me! Help! Somebody help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs into the empty morning mist.
"Save your breath," Mark snarled, hauling me up to my feet with brutal force, twisting my arm behind my back. "Nobody within five miles is awake, and even if they were, they know better than to interfere with a husband handling his sick wife."
He dragged me across the asphalt toward the passenger side of the truck, ignoring my violent kicking and sobbing. He yanked the truck door open and shoved me hard across the seat, sending me crashing onto the floorboard.
"Stay down!" he barked, slamming the door shut with a deafening bang.
I scrambled up onto the seat, my hand instantly searching the door handle, but the power locks clicked shut with a mechanical finality from the driver's side.
Mark climbed in behind the wheel, his face pale with adrenaline and dark fury. He slammed the gearshift into drive, stepped hard on the gas, and the truck fishtailed onto the highway, accelerating rapidly northward toward the dark, looming silhouette of the pine mountains.
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As the miles ticked by and civilization faded into endless stretches of dense forest and fog, I stared out the passenger window, realizing that my only chance of survival wasn't waiting for someone to rescue us.
I had to find a way to make him crash.
