Chapter 6 - The Digital Ghost
I pulled David out of the trunk and laid him gently onto the cold gravel. I frantically checked his pulse and felt a faint, steady heartbeat against my fingers. He coughed violently and slowly opened his swollen eyes. I helped him sit up and asked him what the incredible discovery was. David groaned in pain and pulled a small black USB drive from his sock. He explained that Victoria had deleted the video from his phone, but she forgot about his cloud backup. He had managed to download the horrific footage of my torture onto this encrypted drive. The drive also contained financial records proving Victoria was blackmailing my husband. We finally had the undeniable evidence we needed to destroy all of them. I helped David into the passenger seat of the car and climbed behind the steering wheel. We needed to deliver this drive directly to the federal authorities before morning. Local police were useless because Victoria controlled the entire precinct. I sped down the deserted highway, heading straight for the FBI field office in the city. My stomach cramped fiercely, reminding me that my baby was still in extreme danger. I gripped the steering wheel and promised my unborn child that this nightmare would end tonight. Suddenly, the headlights of a massive pickup truck appeared in my rearview mirror. The truck accelerated dangerously, riding inches from my rear bumper. I recognized the custom grill of my husband's favorite vehicle. He had used Victoria's tracking software to locate her car on the road. He slammed his truck into the back of our vehicle, sending us spinning wildly across the asphalt. I fought for control, gripping the wheel as the tires screeched in protest. The car smashed into a steel guardrail and finally ground to a violent halt. I looked over at David, who was unconscious once again from the impact. I heard the heavy, angry footsteps of my husband walking toward my shattered window. He racked a shotgun loudly and pointed it directly at my face.
