The floorboards in the hallway creaked under a heavy weight.

I pulled the thin, yellowed blanket tighter around newborn Owen.

He whimpered, his tiny chest rising and falling against my collarbone.

My arms shook from the sheer effort of holding him.

The room smelled of damp plaster, stale formula, and old dust.

Through the frost-rimed window, the winter sky was a flat, lifeless gray.

For three days, they had kept the radiator turned off.

My fingers were blue at the tips, stiff and barely able to curl.

Then, I heard the heavy, rhythmic thud of combat boots on the stairs.

It was not Ethan’s light, hesitant step.

My bedroom door splintered open with a loud crack.

My father stood in the frame, his green wool coat dark with melting snow.

His jaw was set, his gray eyes scanning the cold room until they landed on me.

“Hannah,” he said.

He crossed the floor in three long strides and knelt beside the mattress.

His calloused hands felt warm against my icy forehead.

“Dad,” I whispered, my voice cracking from days of silence.

“I’m here,” he said, his voice low and steady. “We are leaving right now.”

He reached down and gently took Owen from my arms, cradling the baby against his chest.

“Can you stand?” he asked.

I tried to push myself up, but my knees buckled instantly.

He caught me before I hit the floor, lifting me with his free arm.

“They took the keys, Dad,” I said, pointing toward the locked closet. “And my phone.”

“They won’t stop me,” he said.

He carried me down the dark stairs, Owen tucked safely against his shoulder.

My ribs ached where Courtney had kicked me the night before.

As we reached the front hall, the front door swung open.

Patricia stood there, her beige designer coat draped over her shoulders.

Courtney was right behind her, holding a steaming cup of takeout coffee.

“Where do you think you’re going with her, Michael?” Patricia asked, her voice sharp as glass.

“Out of this house,” my father said, not slowing his pace.

“She signed the lease,” Patricia said, stepping forward to block the threshold. “She belongs here.”