Chapter 6 - The Brother's Choice
I fell to my knees on the cold concrete, staring at the bloody bandage.
My chest heaved with panic as I screamed their names into the empty alley.
Suddenly, the cheap burner phone in my pocket began to vibrate aggressively.
I answered it, demanding to know where my wife and daughter were.
The voice on the other end wasn't Greg or Vanessa.
It was my older brother, Mark.
His voice was trembling, sounding more terrified than I had ever heard him.
He told me he had Emily and Lily, and they were currently safe.
He swore he tracked the thugs to the clinic and managed to grab my family before Margaret's men found the truck.
I didn't trust him for a second, reminding him that he stood by and watched our mother assault my wife.
Mark pleaded with me, claiming he finally realized how insane Margaret had become.
He told me to bring the flash drive and meet him at the old family boathouse on the edge of the harbor.
He promised he had a boat waiting to take us safely across the border.
I had no other choice.
I stole Greg's sleek Mercedes from the clinic parking lot and sped toward the harbor.
The boathouse was dark and isolated, surrounded by freezing water and thick fog.
I kicked the wooden door open, holding the crowbar tightly in my right hand.
Emily and Lily were tied to wooden chairs in the center of the room.
Mark stepped out of the shadows, looking at me with tears streaming down his face.
May you like
He raised a heavy revolver and pointed it directly at my chest.
He apologized softly, explaining that his gambling debts had caught up with him, and Margaret promised to pay them off if he delivered the child.
