"At my daughter’s birthday, my sister smashed the cake into her face as a joke. My little girl fell backward, clutching her cheek and crying in pain. The next morning, my mother begged me not to report her. Then the ER doctor studied the X-ray, locked the door, and called 911.

The truck driver slammed the heavy passenger door shut and immediately locked it.

He was a massive, scarred man with cold, dead eyes.

"Eleanor said you might make it this far," he grumbled, putting the truck into gear.

He reached into his thick jacket and pulled out a long, serrated hunting knife.

I realized my mother had planned for every single contingency.

Lily screamed and huddled behind my back on the wide passenger seat.

I did not have any weapons, and I was completely exhausted from the freezing river.

The driver lunged across the cabin, aiming the knife directly at my stomach.

I grabbed his thick wrist with both hands, fighting desperately to keep the blade away from my flesh.

The truck swerved wildly across the wet highway as we struggled for control.

I looked around the chaotic cabin for anything I could use to save our lives.

My eyes landed on a heavy, metal thermos sitting in the center cup holder.

I let go of his wrist with one hand and grabbed the heavy thermos.

I swung it upward with brutal force, smashing it directly into the side of the driver’s head.

The man grunted and slumped forward against the steering wheel, completely unconscious.

The heavy truck drifted dangerously toward the edge of a steep mountain cliff.

I climbed over the unconscious driver and grabbed the massive steering wheel.

I stomped on the air brakes, bringing the terrifying vehicle to a screeching, sliding halt just inches from the guardrail.

I shoved the heavy driver out of the open door, leaving him bleeding on the wet asphalt.

I climbed into the driver's seat and locked the doors.

I had never driven a commercial truck before, but I forced the gearshift forward and pressed the accelerator.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

I was not going to the corrupt local police station.

I drove the massive rig straight toward the heavily guarded State Police Headquarters in the capital city.

Chapter 8 - The Hijacking