Chapter 4 - The Escape
I screamed and raised my fists to fight.
“Miss Sterling, stop, it’s me!” a terrified voice cried out.
I blinked through my tearing eyes and saw Jenna, the young associate from the register.
She was trembling violently, clutching a small black purse to her chest.
“Jenna, we need to get away from here,” I coughed, looking back at the burning building.
She nodded rapidly and pulled a small USB flash drive from her pocket.
“I saw Ethan loading this drive with inventory logs every Friday night,” Jenna explained rapidly.
“I stole it from his desk during the fire alarm panic.”
I took the flash drive, realizing this was the proof I needed to expose the entire ring.
“You saved my business, Jenna,” I said, feeling a rush of gratitude.
“Actually, she just made my job much easier,” a deep voice echoed down the alley.
Marcus, the security guard, stepped out from behind a dumpster.
He was no longer wearing his mall security jacket.
He was wearing a tactical vest and holding a collapsible steel baton.
“Give me the drive, Miss Sterling, and I might let the girl live,” Marcus smiled cruelly.
He took a slow, menacing step toward us.
I shoved Jenna behind me, gripping the flash drive tightly in my fist.
“You were never just a security guard, were you?” I asked, stalling for time.
“I am the cleanup crew,” he laughed, stepping closer.
I noticed a heavy metal trash can sitting just inches from my right foot.
I didn't say another word.
I kicked the trash can as hard as I could, sending it rolling directly into Marcus’s shins.
He stumbled forward, cursing loudly.
Jenna instantly pulled a bottle of our strongest luxury perfume from her apron and sprayed it directly into his eyes.
Marcus screamed in absolute agony, dropping his baton to claw at his face.
“Run!” I yelled, grabbing Jenna’s hand.
We sprinted down the alley and merged into the panicked crowd gathering on the main street.
I led her three blocks away to where my discreet private sedan was parked.
We locked the doors just as police sirens began to wail in the distance.
I pulled out my laptop, plugged in the flash drive, and opened the master files.
The scale of the counterfeiting operation was in the tens of millions.
I scrolled down to the offshore account where all the laundered money was being sent.
The account was registered under the name Julian Vance.
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My heart shattered into a million pieces.
Julian was the Chief Operating Officer of Maison Avery, and he was also my fiancé.
