Chapter 5 - The Judge's Secret
I froze in the doorway as Victoria stepped out of the shadows. She wore an expensive trench coat and a cruel, calculating expression. I asked her where David was and what she had done to him. She laughed softly and kept the barrel of the gun perfectly level with my heart. She explained that David was currently locked in the trunk of her car. She had intercepted his phone calls because she possessed illegal wiretapping software. I slowly backed away, but she warned me that she would shoot my legs if I ran. I walked into the dusty motel room and raised my hands in surrender. Victoria closed the door and locked the heavy deadbolt behind her. She told me that my husband was actually a pathetic, weak man. She revealed that she did not care about him at all, but she desperately needed his money. Victoria was facing a massive federal corruption probe and needed a quick influx of cash to flee the country. My life insurance policy and the value of our house were the perfect solution to her problem. She planned to kill me here and stage it as a suicide from the guilt of burning myself. I realized she was the true mastermind behind the entire horrific plot. I slowly reached my hand into the pocket of my hospital scrubs. My fingers wrapped tightly around a heavy metal scalpel the nurse had given me for protection. Victoria raised the pistol to my head and told me to say my final prayers. I ducked violently to the left and hurled the scalpel directly at her face. The blade slashed deeply across her cheek, causing her to scream and drop the weapon. I dove for the gun, snatched it from the dirty carpet, and aimed it right back at her. I told the corrupt judge to get on her knees and hand over her car keys immediately. She complied with trembling hands, bleeding profusely from her facial wound. I locked her in the bathroom and ran out to her car to rescue David. I opened the trunk, but David was completely unresponsive and covered in blood.
