Chapter 5 - The Diner Trap
We parked three blocks away from the neon glow of the riverside diner.
The rain was falling heavily now, providing the perfect cover for our approach.
Liam handed me a small earpiece and told me to stay hidden behind the dumpsters in the alley.
He was going to enter through the front door and secure Olivia while I watched the back exit.
I leaned heavily on my crutches, clutching the folder of evidence to my chest.
Through the rain-streaked window, I saw my father sitting in a booth by the kitchen.
He was completely alone.
Olivia was nowhere in sight.
Liam casually walked into the diner, keeping his hand close to his concealed weapon.
My father smiled wickedly and took a sip of his black coffee.
Suddenly, the blinding red and blue lights of three police cruisers flooded the diner parking lot.
The corrupt police chief stepped out of his car with his weapon drawn.
My father had never intended to negotiate for the documents.
He had framed Liam for kidnapping me from the hospital against medical advice.
The police rushed the front doors, tackling Liam roughly to the diner floor.
I watched in absolute horror as they placed the only person helping me into handcuffs.
My father stood up, pointed directly at the alleyway, and shouted that I was hiding out back.
I panicked, turning clumsily on my crutches to run away.
I slipped on the wet pavement and fell hard onto my broken leg, crying out in agony.
The heavy metal back door of the diner swung open violently.
A dark figure stepped out into the rain and grabbed my arm.
It was the owner of the diner, a man I had worked for and trusted for three years.
He dragged me roughly inside and threw me down the dark stairs into the basement.
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He locked the heavy wooden door behind me, plunging me into total darkness.
I realized with terror that he was working with my father the entire time.
