Chapter 2 - The Framed Hero
The engine roared as Mark’s sedan surged forward into the dark.
He took another sudden turn into an alleyway, barely missing a concrete wall.
The black SUV overshot the turn, skidding loudly on the wet asphalt.
Mark used those few precious seconds to lose them completely in the maze of side streets.
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the garage of a quiet, hidden house.
This belonged to David, his trusted childhood friend and former military medic.
David opened the door immediately, his face pale with concern.
"Mark! What on earth happened?"
Mark stepped out of the car, carrying Lily wrapped in a blanket.
"Look at her, David..."
"Just look at what those monsters did to my girl."
David carefully examined Lily’s bruised wrist and swollen cheek under the light.
His expression turned from shock to deep, raging fury.
"Is that... cigarette burns on her arm?"
"Yes."
"Stephanie did this?"
"Stephanie, with the rest of the family watching like it was entertainment."
David gently bandaged Lily’s injuries while she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.
Mark stood near the window, staring out into the darkness.
His phone chimed with an emergency news alert on the screen.
He picked it up and tapped the notification.
His blood immediately ran cold.
A breaking news broadcast was playing on the screen.
A local news anchor appeared with a grave expression.
"Breaking news: A high-profile assault and child abduction has just occurred in the West End."
The screen cut to a video clip.
It was heavily edited footage from the dinner party inside the house.
The footage only showed Mark bursting through the door furiously.
It showed him brutally striking Stephanie and screaming hysterically.
The clip conveniently edited out the part where Lily was locked in the bathroom crying.
It edited out the visible marks on her body.
It made Mark look like an unhinged, violent maniac attacking an innocent family.
The reporter spoke with absolute authority.
"Authorities state that Mark Miller has violently assaulted his sister-in-law and abducted his daughter, Lily."
"Police warn the public that Mark is considered armed, dangerous, and mentally unstable."
"If you see this man, do not approach him."
Mark stared at the screen, his phone shaking in his hands.
They had flipped the narrative in less than an hour.
The entire city now thought he was a monster.
Suddenly, the red and blue flashing lights of police cruisers illuminated the driveway outside David’s house.
Sirens blared softly through the closed windows.
A voice shouted through a megaphoned speaker outside.
"Mark Miller! This is the police!"
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"We have the house surrounded!"
"Step outside with your hands above your head immediately!"
