Chapter 3 - THE ENGINE
At first, the garage was quiet.
Matthew stood outside the side door holding the remote. The sedan’s driver-side window was open. A second key hung from the ignition.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He looked at me through the small glass panel.
“You’re not leaving.”
I tried the side door.
Locked.
I pulled the interior garage release.
Matthew had disabled it.
Then the sedan started.
He had used the remote starter.
The engine came alive with an ordinary mechanical rumble. That normal sound frightened me more than shouting would have.
“Matthew, open the door.”
“You need time to think.”
Fumes spread slowly at first.
I covered my mouth with my sleeve and struck the side door with both fists.
He stood outside watching.
“You forged my name,” I shouted.
His expression changed.
That was when I knew the loan was the real reason.
“You went through my office.”
“You stole our house.”
“It was an investment.”
“You used my identity.”
“You were going to destroy everything because you don’t understand business.”
I tried to reach the car, thinking I could switch it off. The driver door was locked. The spare key remained in the ignition beyond the glass.
My eyes began to burn.
I grabbed a garden tool and struck the window once. The handle cracked before the glass did.
Matthew shouted through the door.
“If you damage that car, you’ll pay for it.”
I remember thinking how absurd it was that he still spoke as if money were the danger.
The air grew heavy.
My thoughts slowed.
I pounded on the garage door and screamed until my voice changed.
Then I heard Nora outside.
“Sarah?”
I hit the metal again.
“Call for help!”
Matthew told her I was having a panic attack.
Nora shouted that she could hear the engine.
The next minutes came in fragments.
Matthew cursing.
Nora saying she was recording.
The garage door finally lifting.
Cold air.
My knees failing.
Matthew dragging me by one arm.
Then his boot striking my side.
May you like
He was no longer trying only to stage an accident.
He was punishing me for surviving it.
