Chapter 5 - A Desperate Plea in the Dark
"Elena?" Daniel whispered, his pistol lowering by a fraction of an inch as disbelief warred with tactical caution. "How did you get out of holding? The Captain said you were under federal lockdown."
Elena slumped against the wallpaper, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She glanced frantically toward the living room where Sophie slept, then back at Daniel, her hands trembling as she grabbed the lapels of his uniform shirt.
"They didn't release me, Daniel. I ran," she whispered fiercely, tears finally spilling over her lashes. "When they put me in that holding cell, Marcus Vance came to see me. He didn't want to bail me out; he wanted to clean house. He told me that since you saw the file, we both became loose ends."
Daniel stared at her, his jaw tightening. "Don't play games with me, Elena. I saw the corporate registries. I know about the money laundering, the shell companies, the forged signatures. You chose them. You chose Vance."
"I had no choice!" Elena sobbed, her voice cracking as she clutched at his arms. "They threatened Sophie, Daniel! Three months ago, when I tried to pull out of the accounts, Marcus showed me photographs of Sophie walking home from school. He said if I went to the feds, they wouldn't just ruin me—they would make sure Sophie never made it home at all."
Daniel felt a cold fury wash over him, superseding his anger at her betrayal. He searched her face, looking for the calculated deceit he had seen earlier in the hallway. Instead, he saw the hollow, exhausted shell of a mother who had walked into a trap she couldn't escape.
"If they wanted you dead or silenced, why did Vance help you get out of booking?" Daniel asked, his voice razor-sharp.
Elena swallowed hard, her eyes darting toward the front door as if expecting a hit squad to breach the locks at any second. "Because the federal grand jury indictments are dropping tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. Vance needed me out so I could take the fall for the entire operation. He’s planning to pin the shell companies, the kickbacks, and the money laundering directly on me—and use our custody battle to prove I was fleeing the jurisdiction with Sophie."
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Before Daniel could formulate a response, the security camera monitor on Martha’s kitchen wall flickered to life with a soft beep. A black sedan had pulled up silently to the curb, its headlights off. Two figures stepped out, moving toward the front porch with heavy, deliberate strides.
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