Chapter 11 - The Airport Expressway
Rain hammered against Maya's windshield in relentless sheets as her sedan surged forward on the interstate. The digital clock on her dashboard flashed 4:45 PM. Traffic was bottlenecked near the international terminal exit due to an accident up ahead, slowing vehicles to a frustrating crawl.
Maya’s phone chimed again with an incoming text. It was a single audio file sent by Liam, accompanied by three words: You were right.
She tapped the play button. Through the speakers came the sound of Liam’s shaky breathing, followed by the heavy clatter of a jewelry box hitting the floor and his stunned, choked sob of realization. He had found the documents. Their mother had betrayed them all.
Suddenly, a sleek black sedan pulled out from the blocked lane directly ahead of her, weaving aggressively through the standstill traffic. Maya instantly recognized the vehicle. It was Marcus’s car.
Without hesitation, Maya cut across two lanes of traffic, ignoring the angry blares of horn blasts from surrounding drivers, and trailed closely behind the black sedan as it took the exit ramp toward the private aviation terminal.
The rain began to ease slightly, turning into a persistent, misty drizzle that cast a gloomy gray filter over the tarmac and hangars. Marcus’s car pulled up near a private charter jet waiting on the airstrip with its engines idling and cabin lights glowing warmly against the twilight.
Maya parked her car near the chain-link perimeter fence, cutting the engine. She grabbed her smartphone, ensuring the recorded confession was queued up and ready to play at maximum volume, and stepped out into the damp chill of the airfield.
Helen and Marcus emerged from the black sedan, both carrying briefcases as they hurried across the wet concrete toward the waiting aircraft steps.
Maya sprinted toward the tarmac gate, her boots splashing through puddles as she called out across the open space.
"Stop right there!" Maya shouted, her voice cutting sharply through the whine of the jet engines.
May you like
Helen and Marcus froze, turning around in unison. Helen’s face hardened into an expression of pure malice as she saw her daughter standing alone by the fence, blocking their only escape route.
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