Chapter 2 - The Desperate Escape
The sharp click of the deadbolt locking us inside echoed through the room like a gunshot.
Bradley slowly turned around to face us, a sinister and completely unhinged smile spreading across his pale face.
He took a menacing step toward me, holding out his hand and demanding that I hand over the silver key immediately.
I tightened my protective grip on my granddaughter, slowly backing away toward the massive arched entryway of the kitchen.
Raymond bravely stepped between us, warning my son-in-law that harming anyone in this room would guarantee him a life sentence in federal prison.
Bradley laughed maniacally, claiming that the local police chief was a close personal friend who would happily write off our deaths as a tragic home invasion.
Without warning, he violently shoved the lawyer aside, sending Raymond crashing heavily into a glass coffee table.
I did not wait to see if the attorney was badly injured before taking immediate action to save my granddaughter.
I sprinted into the sleek kitchen, carrying Tanya on my hip as I desperately searched for an escape route.
My eyes landed on the spare set of keys hanging on a small brass hook next to the garage door.
Katherine always kept the keys to her heavy sports utility vehicle right there for emergencies.
I snatched the keyring off the wall, pushed open the heavy fire door, and rushed out into the dimly lit garage.
I practically threw Tanya into her child safety seat, buckling the harness with trembling, frantic fingers as I heard Bradley screaming my name from the kitchen.
I jumped into the driver's seat, hit the ignition button, and slammed my foot on the gas pedal just as Bradley burst through the garage door.
The heavy vehicle roared to life, violently smashing through the closed garage door in a shower of splintering wood and metal debris.
I sped backward down the long driveway, my heart pounding in my ears as the cool desert wind rushed through the shattered back window.
Just as I shifted into drive to race away, Heather violently blocked the end of the driveway with her expensive red convertible.
She stepped out of her vehicle, pointing a black handgun directly at my windshield with a terrifyingly calm expression.
Instead of stopping, I pressed the accelerator firmly to the floor, forcing the smaller woman to dive into the bushes to save her own life.
I sideswiped her empty convertible with a sickening crunch of metal, tearing out onto the main road at dangerous speeds.
I navigated the busy suburban streets frantically, constantly checking my rearview mirror to ensure we were no longer being followed.
After thirty minutes of erratic driving, I finally pulled into the underground parking garage of the downtown bank branch.
I unbuckled my crying granddaughter, holding her securely as we rode the elevator up to the main banking floor.
The senior bank manager immediately recognized Katherine's name on the account and escorted us down into the highly secure underground vault.
I inserted the silver key into a large steel box hidden deep inside the wall, praying my daughter had left something substantial to save us.
Inside the deep box was a thick black ledger and a cheap, plastic burner phone that looked entirely out of place.
I opened the heavy ledger, finding page after page of detailed banking transactions transferring millions of dollars to offshore shell companies.
Suddenly, the cheap plastic phone resting inside the metal box began to ring with an incredibly loud, shrill tone.
May you like
I cautiously picked up the device and pressed the answer button, holding it against my ear with a shaking hand.
A digitally altered, robotic voice informed me that I had exactly one hour to deliver the ledger to the docks, or Raymond the lawyer would be executed.
