Chapter Three – The First Escape
Julia had never been the type to plan a crime. But now, she thought of nothing else.
For days after Daniel caught her with the key box, she moved like a ghost through the house. Smiling when he looked at her. Cooking meals. Folding his shirts. Pretending everything was normal.
But inside, her mind spun.
She could not live this way. Locked doors. Hidden cameras. His cold smile.
Every time she brushed her teeth, she studied her reflection in the mirror and whispered to herself: I have to leave. I have to leave.
The house had become a map in her mind.
Every creak in the floorboards. Every shadow where the cameras sat. Every lock.
She began to test things quietly.
A window in the upstairs bathroom—painted shut.
The back door near the garage—deadbolted
