Chapter 10 - Breaking Out
Maya slammed the claw end of the hammer into the space between the wooden doorframe and the ancient latch. Wood splinters rained down onto her shoulders as she leveraged her entire body weight against the tool, her muscles screaming with exertion. With a sharp, cracking snap, the rusted bolt gave way, and the door swung wide open, flooding the dim hallway with weak, filtered light from the storm outside.
She bolted down the stairs, bursting into the study. The room was empty. The stacks of cash, the passports, and the briefcases were gone. Rushing to the window, Maya looked down just in time to see the tail lights of the black sedan disappearing down the overgrown driveway.
Her phone was still trapped beneath the wardrobe. She dropped to her knees, reaching her arm deep under the heavy wooden furniture until her fingertips grazed the smooth glass screen. Pulling it out, she checked the display—it was cracked, but miraculously still functional.
She opened her cloud backup app. The audio recording of her mother and Marcus confessing to the entire embezzlement scheme had successfully uploaded to her secure server the second the connection had re-established in the hallway.
A wave of intense relief washed over her, quickly replaced by a sharp sense of urgency. She couldn't let them reach the airport.
Maya sprinted down the stairs, out of the rotting mansion, and ran back through the pouring rain to where her sedan was parked two blocks away. She unlocked the door, threw herself into the driver's seat, and fired up the engine.
Her phone buzzed violently on the passenger seat. It was an incoming call from Liam. She hit speakerphone as she pulled a reckless U-turn on the slick highway.
"Maya! Where the hell are you?" Liam yelled over the phone, his voice frantic and panicked. "The police just called Dad. They found a second shell company registered under Mom’s maiden name. Dad is having a full panic attack; an ambulance is on the way!"
Maya gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white. "Liam, listen to me very carefully. Dad is having a heart attack because Mom set him up too. She and Marcus are heading to O'Hare right now with all the money."
"You're insane," Liam shouted back. "Mom would never do that! She's downstairs making tea for the paramedics!"
"Liam, check Mom's bedroom closet. Look inside the false bottom of her jewelry box," Maya demanded urgently. "You'll find the secondary passport and the deposit slips."
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The line went dead silent. Maya kept her foot pressed hard on the accelerator, racing through the torrential rain toward the airport expressway, knowing the final showdown was inevitable.
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