Chapter Five – The Game Tightens
For a few precious days, Julia believed she was winning. But Daniel had been watching too—and tonight, he would remind her that escape was never her game to play.
Julia’s mornings had begun to feel different.
Not safe, never safe—but not hopeless anymore.
She had her screwdriver, her lighter, her slowly loosening window upstairs. She had tricks Daniel hadn’t noticed. She had small pieces of freedom carved out in secret.
Each time she scraped at the paint on the window frame, she whispered, Soon.
And each night, when Daniel wrapped his arms around her, she whispered to herself, Not forever.
On Friday, Daniel came home early.
Julia stiffened when she heard the garage door rumble open. He’d been doing that more often lately—appearing when she least exp
