{"id":130,"date":"2026-08-27T18:02:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T18:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/?p=130"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:29:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:29:22","slug":"chapter-4-nowhere-left-to-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/chapter-4-nowhere-left-to-run\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 4 \u2014 NOWHERE LEFT TO RUN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
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\u201cHalf?\u201d Mara answered before I could. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Her voice was quiet but hard. Rachel turned. \u201cIt\u2019s my father\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cIt\u2019s money that shouldn\u2019t still be coming.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd what are you buying your medication with?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Mara went pale. \u201cRachel.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I cut in. \u201cEnough.\u201d I pulled her into Dad\u2019s old room. \u201cWhat do you need money for?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI need it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHalf the pension isn\u2019t pocket change.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cMost of this month\u2019s money is gone.\u201d I listed it. Medication. Mortgage. Food.<\/p>\n \n

Rachel laughed bitterly. \u201cSo you get all of it?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about money paid in the name of a dead man.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re just now discovering that\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

That shut me up. After a moment, Rachel sat on the edge of the bed. For the first time, she looked less angry than exhausted. \u201cI need money.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAs much as I can get.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cTo take Noah somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cSomeone\u2019s looking for you, aren\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

She stood too quickly. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Again, too fast. I scraped together fifteen hundred dollars and gave it to her. She took it without thanking me. \u201cNext month we split Dad\u2019s pension.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I didn\u2019t agree. I didn\u2019t refuse.<\/p>\n \n

That was how our filthy little alliance began. Mara and I hid a dead man. Rachel hid why she needed money. None of us was clean enough to judge the others.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

Two days later, Rachel came home with a split lip.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cFell.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cOnto somebody\u2019s fist?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cLeave it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Noah looked away from the television. \u201cMom got hit.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNoah.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

He went quiet. I crouched. \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

He looked at Rachel. \u201cAt the card place.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I turned. \u201cYou\u2019ve been gambling?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cCouple hands.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWith the money I gave you?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

She didn\u2019t answer. Anger rushed through me. \u201cAre you insane?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI only need one good night.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cOne good night for what?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cEnough money to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cYou said you don\u2019t owe anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThen why are you running?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Her face twisted. \u201cCan you stop asking?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cYou\u2019re staying in my home. Your son is here.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

That landed. Rachel looked away. After a moment she wiped the dried blood from her lip. \u201cI need enough for a place.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cFor school.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cFor us to get out.\u201d Her voice broke. \u201cEnough that I don\u2019t have to come home and ask Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I understood. Dad\u2019s birthday had only been half the reason she\u2019d returned. The other half was money.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

That night Mara said: \u201cYou need to watch her.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cIf she goes gambling again, follow her.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cBecause she\u2019s not doing it for fun.\u201d Mara looked toward Rachel\u2019s room. \u201cPeople who believe they absolutely have to win are the people most likely to do something desperate.\u201d Then she looked at me. \u201cDon\u2019t let her bring something worse back here.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

Two nights later, Rachel left around nine. I waited a minute. Then followed.<\/p>\n \n

She went to an old neighborhood on the south side. Behind a closed tea shop was a private card room. I learned later it wasn\u2019t directly owned by Vince Marlow. Rachel had chosen it because she thought a small place like that would be outside his network. But in that world, people knew people. A face that had once been seen beside Vince Marlow didn\u2019t disappear just because she wanted it to.<\/p>\n \n

I waited across the street.<\/p>\n \n

Almost an hour later, Rachel came out looking hollow. Not injured. Worse. Like someone who had lost money she couldn\u2019t afford to lose.<\/p>\n \n

She turned into an alley. Two men appeared. One wore a black hoodie. The other was broad and tall, in a sleeveless work jacket.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cStill running?\u201d Hoodie said.<\/p>\n \n

Rachel stepped back. \u201cI don\u2019t have your money.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWe\u2019re not here for money.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThe kid.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

My entire body went cold. \u201cLeave him out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cOut of it?\u201d The big man laughed. \u201cHe\u2019s the boss\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHe\u2019s my son.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHe\u2019s Vince\u2019s too.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Rachel turned. Hoodie grabbed her arm. \u201cBring the boy back.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cDon\u2019t make us come looking.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I stepped out. \u201cPolice!\u201d<\/p>\n \n

All three turned. I raised my voice. \u201cSomeone already called the cops!\u201d<\/p>\n \n

A few people at the far end of the alley looked over. The men clearly didn\u2019t want witnesses. Hoodie pointed at Rachel. \u201cYou got lucky tonight.\u201d Then they left.<\/p>\n \n

* * *<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWho is Vince?\u201d I demanded.<\/p>\n \n

\u201cNone of your business.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cThey just asked where your kid is.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cI can handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cHandle it how?\u201d My voice rose. \u201cYou hide Noah in a suitcase. You stare out windows. Now two guys show up demanding him. How long were you planning to keep lying?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Rachel went pale. For a long time, she said nothing. Then: \u201cHe\u2019s Noah\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cVince?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cVince Marlow.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWere you married?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

A bitter smile. \u201cNever got that title.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhat does he do?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

She looked toward the building we\u2019d just left. \u201cRuns card rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cAnd things around card rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I felt a heavy knot form in my stomach. \u201cYou took Noah and ran?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \n

Rachel looked at me. Fear was in her eyes now. Real fear. \u201cI told you.\u201d Her voice was low. \u201cI don\u2019t have anywhere left to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \n

I looked down the dark alley. Then I thought about my apartment. Mara. Lucy. Noah. And Dad, lying inside the refrigerator.<\/p>\n \n

I didn\u2019t know yet what Rachel had taken from Vince. I only knew the danger I\u2019d been afraid of since she dragged that suitcase through my door\u2014had finally started following her home.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Previous Chapter Next chapter \u2192 \u201cHalf?\u201d Mara answered before I could. \u201cNo.\u201d Her voice was quiet but hard. Rachel turned. \u201cIt\u2019s my father\u2019s money.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s money that shouldn\u2019t still be coming.\u201d \u201cAnd what are you buying your medication with?\u201d Mara went pale. \u201cRachel.\u201d I cut in. \u201cEnough.\u201d I pulled her into Dad\u2019s old room. Read More “CHAPTER 4 \u2014 NOWHERE LEFT TO RUN”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-https-horrorstories-online-index-php-2026-08-27-grandpa-in-the-fridge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":196,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions\/196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}