Chapter 5 - The Escape
Clara didn't hesitate.
She turned on her heel and bolted through the double doors.
"Clara! Stop!" I screamed, rushing after her.
She sprinted to her SUV, threw the door open, and turned the key. I lunged for the passenger door, but she locked it just as I grabbed the handle. She threw the vehicle into reverse, the tires smoking as she backed out of the parking space, nearly striking a delivery truck.
Two police cruisers screamed into the school parking lot, their lights flashing, blocking the main exit.
But Clara was desperate. She slammed the SUV into drive, hopped the curb, and sped across the school’s manicured front lawn, tearing up the grass as she bypassed the police blockade and disappeared down the avenue.
Detective Martinez’s car pulled up beside me, the tires screeching to a halt. Sarah threw open her door. "Ethan! Get in!"
I jumped into the passenger seat, my heart hammering against my ribs. "She’s heading toward the highway," I said, buckling my seatbelt. "Or back to the house. She’s going to try to destroy whatever else is in that locked closet."
"We have units heading to her house now," Sarah said, navigating the heavy traffic with her sirens blaring. "And we’ve flagged her license plate. She won't get far."
"You don't understand, Sarah," I said, clutching the USB drive in my pocket. "She has a history of burning things down when she loses control. If she goes back to that house, she’s going to set it on fire to destroy the evidence."
May you like
"We won't let that happen," Sarah promised, stepping on the gas.
As we sped toward Hawthorne Avenue, my mind went back to Harper. She was safe, locked in the school office, protected by the police and her teachers. But Clara was still out there, a desperate, cornered predator with nothing left to lose.
