I’m huddled in the corner of the penthouse, clutching onto Angela with my life. I swear if he tries hurting any of us, I’ll kill him. This is the last straw. I won’t be held prisoner like this anymore.

He’s acting much different than he normally does. He’s at the kitchen table, drinking a bottle of Jim, and he’s just staring at us. Every so often, he sets the bottle back on the table and examines the label, pursing his lips. He glances at us and smiles, and continues drinking.

“I’m curious,” he finally says. “What exactly did you think was going to happen? Did you think you’d really run away together and live a happy life without me? We’re married, Dakota. I won’t sign any divorce papers. You know that right?”

“All I want is a life for me and my daughter,” I state. “That’s all. I don’t want to anger you. I just want to leave.”

“Well you are angering me!” he screams, clutching at the bottle as if he’s going to break the glass with his fingers. “You’re causing me a lot of harm, Dakota. Why would you want to do that to me? Do you want to hurt me? I’ve got a very stressful job and the last thing I want is for my wife to be running around with some loser who joined the Navy.”

“He’s not a loser,” I tell him. “He’s everything you wish you could be. And I love him. I don’t care what you have to say. I love him.”

The words sting his ego. I can see it in his eyes, in the way his hands shake against the table. He’s tapping his feet on the tile erratically and there’s a fire in his eyes. “Love?” he asks. “You love him? What the fuck do you know about love? I have sacrificed over and over again for you!” He stands up and I can feel how much he hates me. So why does he keep me here to suffer? If he can’t stand me or Angela, why does he insist on us staying? The simple answer is that he wants to make the world feel his pain.

He walks toward us slowly, with the bottle in his right hand. With his left, he has a cigarette. He lights it and takes a big drag. “I’ve got news for you, baby. You’re staying with me. We’re growing old together. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

The thought of growing old with him makes me sick to my stomach. “I don’t want to.” I don’t know how else to say it. “I won’t let you make our daughter a prisoner to your delusional ideas. She’s going to grow up someday, Danny. And when she does, she’s going to recognize who you are. And she’ll hate you for the rest of her life. Do you really want that for our daughter?”

“All kids hate their parents,” he laughs, blowing smoke in my face. He leans down next to me and places his hand against my cheek. I shiver with repulsion. “So, naturally, she’ll hate me too. Big fucking deal. I guess I’ll have to live with it.”

There’s no other choice, but to lay it on him thick. I’m not scared of him anymore. I’m not going to let him take advantage of my life. “She’s not your fucking daughter, you asshole. Don’t you get it?”

“What did you just say to me?” he snarls, mouth near my face. He’s repulsive in every way. I hate his guts.

“I said, she’s not your daughter,” I whisper. “She’s Payton’s. He fucked my brains out right before the shooting of that stupid show. I hate to break it to you like this, but it’s the truth.”

He grabs my cheeks and squeezes down hard. “You’re lying,” he says. “She’s mine. She has the same eyes as me.”

“Stop,” I tell him. “Just stop. I want a divorce, Danny. I want to be with the one I think about constantly, the man who wrote me every single day in Afghanistan. The man who would take a bullet for me. You can’t be that man for me.”

He goes crazy. He slaps me and takes Angela. He puts her in her room and then comes back for me. I can hear her crying and I want to scream with her, but I don’t lose sight. I’m getting out of this if it’s the last thing I do.

He grabs my wrist and forces me in the room with her. “You don’t want to play nice? Fine. But I’m not dealing with your shit. In you go,” he says. “I’m leaving. When I come back, I want to see my loving wife on her knees, begging for forgiveness. I want your mouth open for me. We’re going to have some fun.”

He slams the door, locks it, and heads out of the apartment. “Fuck,” I whisper to myself. “It’s okay, baby.” I comfort Angela, holding her and kissing her. “Everything is going to be alright. Momma has you now.”

Now it’s time to figure a way out. I glance out the window and see the drop. It’s a long way down. I open the window and step out onto the fire escape. It’s locked shut. “Fuck,” I whisper.

I look down again and feel my heart go crazy. I try to scream, but no one seems to care. A few wandering heads look up, but they continue walking. This is New York City. They see crazy stuff happen on a day-to-day basis. This isn’t anything new for them.

“Stay here, baby,” I whisper. “Momma’s going out for a second.” I close the window and look down again. The fire escape is locked, but there’s another ladder connected to the window below this one. If I hang off the balcony here, I can put my feet on the bottom level. If I balance right, I can jump onto it.

This is either the smartest plan I’ve ever had, or it’s suicide. Either way, I’m going to have to find out. I can’t let Danny take control of me any longer. I need to find Payton. And when I do, we’re getting Angela back.

I grab onto the metal bar and lower myself down. The tips of my feet hit the bar below me and I nearly slip and fall. I hold on with all my might, feeling my nerves go wild. “Here goes nothing,” I say to myself as I let go. I close my eyes and suddenly feel my feet hit the lower level. I did it. I’m in the clear.

I fiddle with the opening of the ladder and it comes barreling out. “Yes!” I scream, feeling the excitement rush into my body. I climb down the ladder and, finally, I’m out on the streets below.

I’m running. I’m running as fast as I ever have before. I cross the street, turn the corner, nearly falling flat on my face. I get to Payton’s place in no time. I ring the buzzer over and over again. There’s no answer. “Fuck!” I scream, falling to the cement, nearly giving up.

“What’s the plan?” I hear a voice. I look up to find Payton standing there, smiling. “Are you ready to run off with me or what?”