Chapter 3 - The Midnight Escape
Clara sprinted blindly through the rain-soaked alleyways behind the grand hotel.
She had not escaped the security room on her own.
A mysterious woman wearing a dark trench coat had incapacitated the guards and unlocked the heavy door.
The stranger had simply handed Clara a burner phone and told her to run as fast as possible.
Clara ducked into an abandoned subway station, shivering violently in the freezing night air.
She pulled the burner phone from her pocket and noticed a single unread message on the glowing screen.
The text contained a highly secure address and a strict warning to trust absolutely no one.
She navigated the dark, dangerous city streets for an hour until she reached a rundown apartment building.
Clara cautiously climbed the broken concrete stairs to the designated room on the top floor.
She pushed the door open and gasped in pure shock.
The walls of the tiny apartment were entirely covered in surveillance photos of Julian, Vivi, and Noah.
The mysterious woman from the hotel stepped out of the shadows, removing her dark hood.
It was Elena, Vivi's highly trusted personal assistant.
"I have spent three years gathering undeniable proof that Vivi runs a massive illegal adoption syndicate," Elena explained quickly.
Elena handed Clara a thick, heavy folder filled with horrifying medical records and bank transfers.
"Vivi faked your death during childbirth to steal Noah and secure Julian's billion-dollar inheritance," the assistant revealed.
Clara felt a sickening wave of absolute fury wash over her entire body.
She finally had the hard evidence she desperately needed to destroy Vivi and reclaim her precious boy.
"We have to take this directly to the federal police right now," Clara urged with fierce determination.
Elena shook her head sadly and pointed toward the small window overlooking the street.
Four black tactical vans silently pulled up to the curb, heavily armed mercenaries pouring out of the vehicles.
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"Vivi did not just call the police, Clara," Elena whispered with wide, terrified eyes.
"She put a two-million-dollar bounty on your head, and the deadliest cartel in the city just found us."
