Chapter 8
The digital clock on the microwave read 11:45 PM as Sarah poured two cups of black coffee, handing one to David across the kitchen island. The house was completely dark except for the soft under-cabinet lighting. They had spent the last several hours digitizing pages of the ledger using a portable scanner David had kept from his old IT job, uploading encrypted copies to a secure cloud server while keeping the physical document safely tucked inside a heavy-duty fireproof safe in the basement.
“The federal contact Daniel listed in the back of the ledger is an agent named Agent Miller,” David said softly, blowing on the hot surface of his coffee. “Coincidental last name aside, the office is located about two hours away in the federal building downtown. If we drive down there first thing tomorrow morning before Marcus expects us to make a move, we can hand over the physical ledger directly to someone who has the power to arrest him.”
Sarah nodded, wrapping her hands around her mug to chase away the chill that seemed to linger in her bones. “And if Marcus is watching the house? He threatened to ruin us within twenty-four hours. He might have someone stationed at the end of the street right now.”
“That’s why we’re not leaving together in the main car,” David explained his plan, his voice calm and methodical. “I’ll take the older sedan out through the alley around 4:00 AM, drawing any attention away from the front. You take the electric bicycle through the park trail to the commuter rail station three blocks over and meet me at the station parking lot in downtown Springfield by 6:00 AM.”
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It was risky, but it was their only viable option against a man with Marcus’s resources. They spent the next hour reviewing every detail of the route, ensuring no stone was left unturned in their desperate bid for survival and justice. For the first time in years, Sarah felt a spark of genuine agency. She wasn't just running from her past anymore; she was actively confronting it.
At 3:30 AM, they finished packing a small canvas backpack with the physical ledger, the silver watch, and the original deposit slips wrapped securely in waterproof plastic. The digital copies were already safe in the cloud, protected by multi-factor encryption that even Marcus’s high-paid tech consultants couldn't easily breach.
