The day they fled, the sky was overcast and rain poured down on the earth below. Shawn was 17, tall and lanky, with a quiet demeanor that masked his sharp intelligence. Tonight, he was watching coding tutorials on YouTube and trying to make progress on a project he had been working on for some time. Suddenly, Katherine burst into his room, her face pale and eyes wide. "Pack a bag," she pleaded, her voice betraying her fear. "We have to leave. Now."
Shawn froze. "What? Why?"
"There's no time to explain," she said, glancing nervously over her shoulder. "Please, Shawn. Trust me."
The urgency in her voice struck him, and it made him wonder what could be unnerving his adoptive mother so much that she couldn't even explain it. He looked at her, confused, but stood up nevertheless. He stuffed clothes, his laptop, and a few personal items into a backpack. As he zipped it shut, he heard raised voices from downstairs. Victor's voice was unmistakable, deep and booming with anger.
"You think you can just leave?" Victor shouted. "After everything I've done for you? You and that twerp have given me nothing but grief ever since you brought him here. And now you want to, what, run away?"
Katherine's voice was calmer but no less stoic and firm. "This isn't about you, Victor. It's about Shawn. He deserves better than this."
Shawn's heart pounded as he crept to the top of the stairs, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He peered down to see Victor towering over Katherine, his fists clenched and his face twisted in rage.
"You're making a mistake," Victor growled. "You'll regret this."
"Maybe," Katherine replied, her voice steady. "But I can't let you hurt him anymore."
Before she could react, Victor punched her in the side. Katherine doubled over and sunk to her knees. Victor smiled. "Try something like that again, and there will be hell to pay." Victor turned his back to Katherine and began to walk back to the den. But before he could get anywhere else, Katherine was on her feet. She spun Victor around and chopped his throat, causing him to sputter and cough. He fell to the floor, grabbing at his neck as he struggled to breath.
Before Victor could get up, Katherine turned and hurried up the stairs. She grabbed Shawn's arm and pulled him toward the back door. "Come on," she whispered.
"Mom, what was that? You-you hit him! You hit him and he couldn't even do anything!" Shawn sputtered.
They slipped out into the rain-soaked night, Katherine's car waiting at the edge of the driveway. She smirked at her son. "I can do a lot of things. Sometimes it only takes a spark to do what needs to be done." As they drove away, Shawn glanced back to see Victor standing in the doorway, still rubbing his neck, his silhouette framed by the light from inside the house. The sight sent a chill down Shawn's spine.
During the drive, Katherine told Shawn why she needed to take him away so suddenly. "Victor… he's not who you think he is," she said, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. "He works for people who do terrible things. I… I had to get us away before it was too late."
"What do you mean, terrible things?" Shawn asked, his voice barely audible over the rain and thunder.
Katherine hesitated before answering. "It's complicated, Shawn. Just know that I'm doing this to protect you."
They drove through the night, eventually arriving at a secluded cabin deep in the countryside. Katherine told Shawn they would be safe there, but the tension in her eyes told a different story. She refused to let him go into town on his own or use the internet freely, saying that they needed to be more cautious than ever with Victor still on the loose. Shawn's world narrowed further, his life reduced to the confines of the cabin and its surrounding woods.