Chapter 10 - The Reckoning
I pushed past the police officers and sprinted toward the nearest squad car.
The lead detective shoved me into the passenger seat and hit the sirens before I even closed the door.
We tore through the empty streets of Manhattan, breaking every single traffic law in existence.
When we arrived at the apartment building, the heavy front door was completely smashed off its hinges.
I ran up the stairs, screaming Leo's name with a horrific pain burning in my lungs.
I burst into the apartment and immediately fell to my knees in overwhelming relief.
The nanny was standing over two unconscious security guards, holding a heavy cast-iron skillet.
Leo was perfectly safe, fast asleep in a back bedroom with noise-canceling headphones on.
Six months later, the Whitaker family empire completely collapsed under federal investigations.
Nathan and Patricia were both sentenced to twenty-five years in maximum security federal prison without the possibility of parole.
I was granted full sole custody of my beautiful boy and received a massive financial settlement from the corporate liquidation.
We moved to a quiet, sunny suburban neighborhood in California where nobody knew our names.
I stood on my new porch, sipping hot coffee while watching Leo happily chase a butterfly in the grass.
The mailman walked up the driveway and handed me a thick, completely unmarked black envelope.
I tore it open and found a high-resolution photograph of Leo playing in this exact yard, taken from the woods across the street.
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Written on the back of the photo in jagged red ink was a terrifyingly simple message.
I looked up at the dark tree line as I read the words, "They went to prison, but I did not."
