Chapter 4 - The Bank Vault
I slipped out the back door of the police precinct just as the shift change siren wailed.
The cool night air filled my lungs, but I had absolutely no time to feel relieved.
Arthur's burner phone buzzed in my pocket with GPS coordinates to a private bank downtown.
I kept my head down, walking quickly through the dark alleys to avoid the street cameras.
When I reached the towering glass building, a security guard was already waiting at the side entrance.
He checked my face against a photo on his phone and silently unlocked the heavy glass door.
He led me down into the subterranean levels of the bank, where the most secure vaults were kept.
"Box 814," the guard muttered, handing me a heavy brass key before walking away.
I found the safety deposit box and turned the key with trembling fingers.
Inside the long metal drawer was a stack of cash, a fake passport with my photo, and a small black USB drive.
There was also a handwritten letter folded neatly at the bottom.
I recognized Ethan's messy handwriting immediately.
Tears blurred my vision as I read his final words to me.
He explained that he had secretly hacked into Julian's restaurant servers months ago.
He had found undeniable proof of the cartel's money laundering operations and my family's involvement.
Ethan had planned to turn the evidence over to the FBI on Wednesday.
They had killed him on Monday to silence him.
I plugged the USB drive into the bank's secure customer computer terminal.
The screen flickered to life, displaying a folder filled with high-definition security videos.
I clicked on the most recent file.
The video showed my father and Julian sitting in the restaurant office with a terrifying man covered in tattoos.
My father was handing over the life insurance documents with my name clearly visible on them.
"Take the wife out, and the payout will cover the entire debt," my father said on the video.
Suddenly, the heavy steel doors of the bank vault slammed shut, locking me inside.
May you like
The computer screen went completely black, and a voice echoed through the room's intercom system.
"You always were too curious for your own good, Maya," my mother's voice hissed through the speaker.
