Chapter 12
The payphone near the back of the diner hummed softly as Clara fed a handful of quarters into the coin slot, her fingers punching in the ten-digit emergency override number that Julian had memorized for her years ago. It was a direct line to Arthur Sterling, a retired federal prosecutor who had served as their family’s legal counsel before the corporate lawsuits began.
The phone rang three times before a sharp, gravelly voice answered on the other end. "Sterling."
"Mr. Sterling, it's Clara," she said, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "They breached the estate. Dad and Elena are still there."
On the other end of the line, there was a sharp intake of breath, followed by the sound of rustling papers as the older man instantly shifted into full professional gear. "Clara? Where are you? Are you safe?"
"I'm at a truck stop thirty miles south of the estate," she replied, glancing nervously out the diner window toward the empty highway. "I have the quantum drive with the complete uncorrupted dataset. Vance's trial records, the patent filings, everything. They didn't get it."
"Thank God," Sterling murmured, his voice heavy with immense relief. "Listen to me very carefully, Clara. Do not stay at that truck stop. Those men are not ordinary corporate thugs; they are backed by Apex Pharmaceuticals, and they have local law enforcement on their payroll. They will be sweeping the regional highways within the hour."
"How do I get to you?" Clara asked, her grip tightening on the heavy plastic handset.
"There is an old maintenance depot three miles down the service road behind the diner—marker post forty-two," Sterling instructed smoothly. "Walk through the tree line until you reach the old loading dock. My associate will be waiting in an unmarked sedan with the engine running. Get in the car, give him the drive, and do not trust anyone else along the way."
"What about my father and Elena?" Clara demanded, her voice catching in her throat. "We can't just leave them there."
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"I am already mobilizing a federal asset team to secure the estate under judicial protection," Sterling assured her firmly. "If your father and Elena are still inside, the presence of federal marshals is the only thing that will keep Apex from eliminating them to tie up loose ends. Your job right now is to protect the evidence. Move, Clara. Now."
The line clicked dead. Clara hung up the receiver, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She turned away from the payphone, grabbed her jacket from the booth, and slipped back out into the cool predawn darkness, heading toward the tree line and the uncertain road ahead.
