“The Night I Thought I Was Going to Die”

“The Night I Thought I Was Going to Die”

“Jake! Jake!”
That’s all I remember shouting that night — my voice shaking, my heart pounding so loud I could hear it echoing in my ears.

I had just tucked my kids into bed. The house was quiet, peaceful — the kind of silence that feels like safety. I slipped into the bathroom next to their rooms to take a quick bath, just a few minutes of calm after a long day.

Then, I heard it.
Loud stomping. Heavy footsteps above me, running back and forth. It sounded like a group of people were upstairs — moving fast. I froze for a second, then told myself it was nothing. Maybe my husband had come home early.

But when I checked his location on my phone, my stomach dropped. He was still at work — an hour away.

Before I could even process what was happening, the sounds came closer. Stomping. Then banging — right at my bathroom door. The handle started jiggling violently.

My first thought was still, Jake must be playing a prank on me.
But the moment the door burst open, I knew I was wrong.

Two men dressed in all black, wearing ski masks, stood in front of me.
Head to toe, covered.
And me — standing there completely exposed, frozen in shock.

They stormed in. One pointed at me and hissed,

“If you move, I’ll kill you.”

I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. My babies were sleeping just a few feet away.
So I did the only thing I could.
I looked at them and whispered,

“Here’s my purse. Here’s my phone. Take whatever you want — just don’t hurt my kids.”

They grabbed my phone and ran downstairs, yelling at each other. For a few seconds, I stood there, paralyzed — every nerve screaming that if I didn’t move, we’d all die.

I ran to my toddler’s room and shouted,

“Alexa, call the police!”

But Alexa’s calm voice replied,

“I’m sorry. If you’re having an emergency, make sure you use your smartphone.”

My smartphone — the one they had just stolen.

Panic rose in my throat. I sprinted to our bedroom, searching for the emergency button on our alarm system — nothing. So I did the only thing I could: I switched the alarm to Home Mode, hoping the motion sensors would trigger something.

Seconds later, the alarm went off — blaring through the house. My dog started barking. I grabbed him and ran for the front door, bracing for an attack I was sure would come.

But they were gone.

I rang our Ring doorbell, desperate to reach my husband, and when his face finally appeared on the screen, I broke down. He called the police immediately.

When I ran back upstairs and saw my babies still sleeping peacefully, I fell to my knees and cried.

That night, I realized how fast safety can disappear — and how a mother’s instinct can take over when fear tries to paralyze you.

Thank God everyone was okay.
But I’ll never forget the sound of that door breaking down.