Chapter 3 - The Shadow Auditor
I woke up to the blinding glare of fluorescent hospital lights and the tight grip of Daniel's hand.
The steady, reassuring sound of my baby's heartbeat echoed through the quiet room once again.
The doctor informed us that they had stabilized the distress, but the situation remained incredibly fragile.
Marissa Kane, Daniel's fierce criminal attorney, quietly entered the room and closed the blinds.
She handed Daniel a tablet displaying a heavily redacted intelligence file.
Marissa explained that she had run a background check on Vanessa Cole immediately after the restaurant incident.
The woman we knew as Vanessa did not officially exist in any government database.
She was a phantom auditor working for an international syndicate that specialized in corporate extortion.
My father had borrowed ten million dollars from them to save his real estate business, and he had lost it all.
The encrypted flash drive Vanessa stole contained the access codes to my father's hidden offshore accounts.
However, Marissa revealed that the accounts were actually empty.
My father had hidden the physical bearer bonds inside the spare tire compartment of my BMW.
He gave the car to Vanessa publicly so she could drive away with the money without arousing police suspicion.
I gasped, realizing that my car was the key to my father's entire survival strategy.
Daniel quickly checked his phone and saw a notification from the vehicle's GPS tracking application.
The BMW was no longer parked at the upscale steakhouse in downtown Boston.
It was currently moving at a high rate of speed toward an abandoned industrial district near the harbor.
Daniel stood up, his jaw set in a hard, unyielding line.
He told Marissa to stay with me and protect my room at all costs.
I begged him not to go, terrified of what Vanessa might do to him.
He kissed my cheek and promised he would return before the sun came up.
Ten minutes after he left, the television in my room abruptly switched to a live local news broadcast.
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The breaking news banner announced a massive explosion at a warehouse in the harbor district.
The footage showed a white BMW X5 completely engulfed in towering flames.
