Chapter 7 - The Gathering Storm
Maya returned to her car, sliding into the driver's seat and locking all the doors. The dashboard clock glowed red, reading 2:15 PM. She had less than a few hours before the authorities connected her to the missing USB drive and put out a statewide bulletin for her arrest. Her mother had effectively signed her exile, choosing self-preservation over maternal love.
Yet, instead of running away as threatened, a fierce resolve began to spark inside Maya's chest. She couldn't let them win. She couldn't let her family destroy her reputation and walk away scot-free while she took the fall for a crime she didn't commit.
She pulled up her laptop, plugging it into her phone’s hotspot. Since Marcus had downloaded the encrypted database, she checked the server logs to see if he had left a backdoor open. To her astonishment, he had. Arrogance was his biggest flaw; Marcus had routed the secondary download through his personal home IP address instead of a secure proxy.
Maya’s fingers flew across the keyboard, tracing the digital footprint straight to a residential address in the upscale suburbs on the north side of the city. It was an abandoned property registered under her uncle’s old holding company—the very place where the syndicate likely kept its physical ledger books.
She packed her gear into her backpack, checked her fuel gauge, and pulled out of the parking lot. This was her only chance to gather undeniable proof of her mother and Marcus’s conspiracy.
As she drove through the afternoon traffic, the skies above Chicago grew heavy and bruised with dark, rolling storm clouds. The weather mirrored the turmoil in her soul. By the time she reached the outskirts of the northern suburbs, a heavy drizzle had begun to slick the asphalt.
She parked her car two blocks away from the dilapidated mansion, cutting her headlights as she killed the engine. The house stood at the end of a overgrown gravel driveway, dark and foreboding against the stormy horizon.
Maya stepped out into the rain, pulling her hood tight. As she crept up the overgrown lawn toward the side entrance, a pair of bright headlights suddenly swept across the property, forcing her to dive behind a thick overgrown hedge.
May you like
A sleek black sedan pulled up the driveway, and to Maya’s horror, the passenger door opened to reveal her mother stepping out into the rain, holding a heavy leather briefcase.
---
