Chapter 7 - NO WAY OUT
“Open the door!”
Madeline pounded against it.
Noelle simply smiled.
“You should have stayed in London.”
Rachel tried the handle.
Locked.
Madeline grabbed her phone.
No signal.
Liam began crying.
“Mommy.”
Madeline pulled him close.
“It's okay.”
Outside, Noelle spoke calmly.
“You always thought you were smarter than this family.”
Madeline shouted,
“You abused my son!”
Noelle's expression remained cold.
“I disciplined him.”
“He was four.”
“He needed discipline.”
“You locked him in here.”
“He needed to learn.”
Rachel looked around.
“There's ventilation.”
Madeline noticed a narrow opening.
Smoke began entering the room.
Rachel's face changed.
“She wants to scare us out.”
Then the lights went off.
Liam screamed.
Madeline hugged him.
“Mommy's here.”
She remembered something.
The recording device she had found on the floor.
She had never checked it.
She pulled it from her pocket.
It was still recording.
Everything.
Including Noelle's voice.
Madeline smiled.
“Thank you.”
She connected it to her phone.
The audio uploaded automatically.
Rachel stared.
“This could put her in prison.”
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Someone was fighting.
Then the basement door opened.
Jeffrey stood there.
His face was bruised.
“Get out.”
Madeline stared.
“What happened?”
“Noelle found out I called the police.”
Rachel rushed past him.
Madeline followed.
Jeffrey grabbed her arm.
“I'm sorry.”
She looked at his hand.
He released her.
“I'm sorry for everything.”
Madeline shook her head.
“Don't apologize.”
“What should I do?”
“Tell the truth.”
Jeffrey nodded.
Then police arrived.
Noelle was arrested.
But there was still one problem.
The recordings showed Jeffrey's involvement.
He could be charged too.
Madeline didn't stop them.
She watched as he was taken away.
He looked at her through the window.
“Take care of Liam.”
Madeline held her son's hand.
“I will.”
Three days later, the story exploded.
News outlets reported the abuse.
The forged custody documents.
The financial fraud.
The secret recordings.
The public turned against the family.
But then Rachel received a call.
She answered.
Her face became serious.
“What?”
She listened.
Then looked at Madeline.
“We found Cynthia.”
“Where?”
“Savannah.”
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Rachel hesitated.
“She says Austin is not her biological child.”
Madeline stared.
“Then whose is he?”
Rachel whispered,
“Your father's.”
Madeline's blood ran cold.
“My father?”
“The DNA report was altered.”
“How?”
“Someone switched the samples.”
Madeline looked toward Austin, who was sitting quietly in the corner.
May you like
Then Rachel said the words that changed everything.
“Austin is your half-brother.”
