Chapter 6 - The Tarmac Stand-off
The deafening roar of the jet engines seemed to fade into absolute silence as I stared at the remote in my sister’s hand.
She stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at me like I was an insect waiting to be crushed.
I froze in my tracks, my eyes darting frantically toward the open back doors of the ambulance.
I could see Mia’s tiny pink blanket resting on the stretcher, completely motionless.
Vance stepped out of the car, holding his tablet up high so my sister could see the glowing screen.
He shouted over the noise that the FBI had already received the decrypted flash drive files.
He told her the offshore accounts had been frozen and the bribed judge was already in federal custody.
My sister’s confident smirk faltered for a second, replaced by a twitch of pure panic.
She looked back into the cabin of the jet, screaming for Julian to come out and deal with us.
Julian emerged from the shadow of the cabin, but he did not look angry or authoritative.
He looked completely terrified, and his hands were empty.
Julian grabbed my sister by the arm and yelled that the pilots had locked the cockpit doors and refused to take off.
The entire escape plan was collapsing around them, and they were trapped on the tarmac.
I realized my sister was bluffing out of desperation, so I took a bold step forward.
She raised the remote, her thumb hovering aggressively over the red button.
Suddenly, my mother ran out of the terminal building, completely out of breath and crying hysterically.
She screamed at my sister to put the remote down, confessing that she had already called the police.
My mother realized the money was gone and was desperately trying to play the victim to save herself from prison.
My sister looked at our mother with absolute disgust, realizing she had been betrayed by her own flesh and blood.
In that moment of distraction, I sprinted up the metal stairs and slammed my body into my sister.
The remote flew out of her hand and clattered harmlessly onto the hard concrete far below.
I pushed past Julian and rushed straight into the cabin to find my daughter.
But when I reached the luxurious leather seats, my blood ran completely cold.
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The tiny pink blanket I had seen was wrapped around a bundled up pillow.
Mia was not on the plane.
