Chapter 13
The federal black SUV cut smoothly through the pouring rain, its tires hissing against the slick asphalt of the coastal highway. In the backseat, Clara held Lily tightly against her chest, watching the blurred neon signs of the city fade away into the dark, stormy night. Agent Ramos sat in the front passenger seat, reviewing encrypted files on a secure tablet, while Detective Miller drove with both hands gripping the steering wheel.
“We’ve secured Evelyn’s corporate headquarters downtown,” Agent Ramos said without turning around, her voice competing with the rhythmic slap of the windshield wipers. “Federal agents seized all primary servers before her legal team could initiate a remote wipe. Her accounts are frozen, and her assets are being seized under civil forfeiture laws.”
Clara closed her eyes for a brief second, feeling the immense weight of the last forty-eight hours finally beginning to lift from her shoulders. Mark’s name would be cleared. The truth about his work, his integrity, and his tragic end would finally come to light. They were safe.
Or so she desperately wanted to believe.
“What about Marcus?” Clara asked, her voice cutting through the hum of the heater. “He got away from the house before the local police arrived.”
Miller glanced in the rearview mirror, his expression grim. “We have APBs out on every highway, toll booth, and airport from here to the state line. He won’t get far. Evelyn’s entire network is collapsing like a house of cards.”
Just as Miller finished speaking, the headlights of an oncoming semi-truck cut through the heavy rain, temporarily blinding them with a blinding glare. At the same moment, the SUV’s tire exploded with a loud, violent bang that sent the heavy vehicle fishtailing across the slick lanes.
Miller fought the steering wheel frantically, his muscles straining as the SUV skidded toward the concrete median divider.
“Hold onto the baby!” Ramos screamed, bracing her hands against the dashboard as the car spun in a full three-hundred-degree rotation before slamming hard into the guardrail, stopping just inches from a sheer drop into the churning, dark ocean below.
Silence descended inside the cabin, save for the sound of the engine hissing and the relentless downpour drumming against the roof. In Clara’s arms, Lily began to wail, startled by the violent impact. Clara checked the baby frantically—she was unharmed, wrapped safely in her pink blanket.
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Miller kicked his door open, stepping out into the blinding rain to check the damage. A moment later, his voice echoed back through the open window, filled with horror.
“It wasn't a blowout,” Miller shouted over the wind, holding up a heavy steel spike strip that had been thrown directly across their lane. “We’ve been ambushed.”
