CHAPTER 3: ISOLATED IN THE MANSION
For three weeks, the Barrett mansion became a high-security prison.
Julian had confiscated Evelyn’s phone, her laptop, and her credit cards. The Wi-Fi password was changed, and the landline phones were removed from the upper floors. Evelyn was confined to the guest wing, a cold, drafty section of the house that faced the dense woods behind the estate.
"You don't need to communicate with the outside world," Julian had told her coldly before he stopped visiting her room altogether. "You need to think about what you’ve done."
Every day, Victoria would enter the room accompanied by a heavy-set maid named Martha. They didn't bring her nutritious meals; they brought her stale bread, cold soup, and water.
"We need to keep you alive until the birth," Victoria said, watching Evelyn struggle to sit up. "Once the child is born, we will sign the abandonment papers. You will leave this house with nothing but the clothes on your back. If you try to fight us in court, we will use the DNA test to ruin your reputation globally. You will never find a job, a home, or a man ever again."
Evelyn was weak. The lack of proper nutrition and the constant emotional terror had taken a severe toll. Her lips were chapped, and deep dark circles sat under her eyes. She felt the baby kicking frantically inside her, as if the child could feel the danger surrounding them.
I have to get out, Evelyn thought every single night. I have to save my baby.
One afternoon, Victoria forgot to lock the door after her daily psychological torture session. Waiting until the house grew completely silent, Evelyn slipped out of the room, her bare feet making no sound on the hardwood floor. She avoided the main staircase, instead taking the narrow, dusty stairs used by the staff that led to the basement storage rooms.
She searched through the old boxes of electronics, her fingers covered in dust. Finally, at the bottom of a crate filled with old cables, she found it—an old, cracked iPhone 6 that Julian had discarded years ago.
She plugged it into a dusty wall charger. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Please turn on. Please.
The screen flickered to life. It had no SIM card, but Evelyn noticed that the phone automatically connected to an old, hidden backup Wi-Fi network meant for the smart-home security cameras—a network Julian had forgotten to update.
With trembling fingers, she opened the keypad. She didn't call the police; Victoria had local judges in her pocket. She didn't call her old friends from the gallery; they couldn't protect her from the Barrett fortune.
Instead, she dialed a number she had memorized since she was five years old. A number she had promised she would never call unless she was on the verge of death.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
"Speak," a deep, gravelly voice answered on the other end. It was a voice that commanded armies, a voice that shook corporate boardrooms.
"Daddy..." Evelyn choked out, a sob tearing through her throat. "Daddy, it’s Eve. Please... they’re going to kill my baby. Please save me."
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Before the man on the other end could answer, the heavy wooden door of the basement was kicked open. Julian stood there, his face dark with fury, flanked by two security guards. He snatched the phone from her hand and threw it against the concrete floor, smashing it into pieces.
"You ungrateful bitch," Julian hissed, grabbing her by the hair. "Who were you calling?!"
