Chapter 8 - The Lawyer Arrives
I stared down the barrel of the gun held by the man I had trusted with my life.
Evan’s eyes were wild and desperate, completely consumed by fear and greed.
"You are going to kidnap my children to save yourself?" I asked, my voice eerily calm despite the terror.
"They are my only leverage to ensure Victor's organization does not hunt me down," Evan rationalized pathetically.
He reached into Victor's coat pocket and snatched the titanium decryption drive.
Marsha watched her son with a mixture of horror and twisted pride.
"That is my payout, Evan," she hissed, demanding he share the stolen wealth.
"You are going to stay here and take the blame for the break-in, Mother," Evan replied coldly.
Before Evan could take a single step toward the door, the sound of heavy tires crunched loudly on my driveway.
A massive, armored black suburban parked directly behind Marsha's luxury sedan on the lawn.
The doors swung open, and Diane, my fiercely intimidating estate attorney, stepped out into the daylight.
She was not alone.
Four heavily armed federal marshals in tactical gear flanked her, their rifles raised and ready.
Diane marched up to my broken doorway, holding a thick legal binder in her arms.
"Evan, I highly suggest you put the weapon down before you add federal kidnapping to your charges," Diane called out clearly.
Evan panicked, waving the gun frantically between Diane and Victor.
"This is a local domestic dispute, you have no jurisdiction here," Marsha yelled from the foyer.
Diane smiled a sharp, predatory smile that made my heart soar with relief.
"The David Blackwood Trust is not a standard civilian estate, Marsha," Diane explained loudly.
She opened her binder and displayed a document bearing a massive, official government seal.
"David was working as a highly classified contractor for the Department of Defense before he died," she revealed.
I gasped loudly, finally understanding the true depth of the secrets my first husband had been hiding.
"The technology you are trying to steal is considered classified federal property, which makes this treason," Diane stated firmly.
The federal marshals stormed the house, immediately subduing Victor and disarming a terrified Evan.
Diane walked straight past the chaos and demanded the keys to Marsha's sedan.
She tossed them to me, and I sprinted outside to unlock the trunk of the car.
Maddie and Mason were huddled tightly together in the dark, crying but entirely unhurt.
I pulled them out and squeezed them so fiercely I thought my heart might burst from overwhelming joy.
As I carried my children back toward the safety of Diane's armored vehicle, I heard Marsha screaming from inside the house.
"I will testify against my own son for a plea deal!" Marsha shrieked, desperately trying to save herself.
May you like
Evan’s voice echoed back, dripping with pure venom and betrayal.
"Not if I give them the audio recordings of you planning the entire fraud first, Mother!" Evan fired back.
