She Begged for Milk, Then He Tried to Take the Baby

Chapter 2: The Name Her Mother Forbade

Ellie ran.

She did not wait for the cashier to shout or for the suited man to follow. She just ran, clutching the baby so tightly that his crying turned into breathless little hiccups. She cut through the alley behind the market, then through the empty lot near the laundromat, until she reached the small apartment building where she and the baby had been living since her mother died three weeks earlier.

Only when she slammed the door and locked both bolts did she let herself breathe.

The baby had finally quieted. Ellie sat on the floor with him in her lap, shaking all over.

Noah.

The man had known his name.

Her mother had warned her about many things in the final days of her illness. Do not trust social workers too quickly. Do not tell landlords too much. Do not let anyone separate you from the baby. But one warning had stood apart from the rest.

If a man named Gabriel Ashford ever finds you, run.

Ellie had never understood why.

Now she heard a knock at the door.

Three slow knocks.

Not police. Not neighbors.

She stayed silent.

"It is Gabriel," the man's voice said through the wood. "I came alone."

Ellie nearly laughed from fear. "Go away."

"I am not here to hurt him."

"That's what people say before they do."

A pause followed.

Then Gabriel said, "Your mother's name was Marissa Parker. She worked at Ashford House for six years. Before she died, she sent me three letters I never received."

Ellie's blood ran cold.

How did he know that?

She had just stood up when she noticed the kitchen drawer hanging open. She had left it closed. The bedroom window was also raised half an inch.

Someone had already been inside.

Noah started crying again.

Ellie backed toward the door, heart pounding. "If you really know who my mother was, tell me this. What did she say to do if I ever saw you?"

Silence.

Then, quietly, Gabriel answered, "She told you to run."

Ellie froze.

"And she was right," he said. "Because if I found you, that means my mother probably has too."

Just then, both the hallway lights outside her apartment went out.