Chapter 5 - The Crash
The heavy car hurtled dangerously down the winding mountain road, gaining terrifying speed with every passing second.
Florence gripped the dashboard with her frail, trembling hands, her eyes squeezed tightly shut in pure fear.
Lucas desperately pumped the useless brake pedal, but the hydraulic fluid had already drained completely dry.
He knew that if they missed the upcoming hairpin turn, they would launch directly off a massive, rocky cliff.
"Hold on tight, Mom, I am going to have to crash the car," Lucas yelled over the roaring engine.
He aggressively yanked the emergency brake lever while simultaneously ripping the steering wheel hard to the right.
The tires squealed violently against the asphalt, sending the heavy vehicle spinning out of control in a cloud of burning rubber.
The car slammed brutally into the thick steel guardrail, the metal groaning and sparking as it scraped along the barrier.
The violent friction finally brought the completely destroyed vehicle to a screeching, smoking halt just inches from the deadly edge.
Lucas gasped for air, his chest heaving as the deployed airbags slowly began to deflate around them.
He quickly checked his mother, weeping tears of profound relief when he saw she was miraculously unhurt.
They could not stay in the wrecked car, as Marcus would undoubtedly track the GPS signal on the vehicle's computer.
Lucas kicked his jammed door open and carried his mother into the dense, dark woods bordering the highway.
He pulled out his smartphone, relieved to see the screen was only slightly cracked but still fully functional.
He immediately dialed the encrypted number of Sarah, a ruthless private investigator he had hired years ago for insurance fraud cases.
Sarah answered on the first ring, her sharp, professional voice cutting through the panic in his mind.
Lucas quickly explained the horrific betrayal, the attempted murder, and the forty-million-dollar lithium mine.
"Send me your exact GPS coordinates, I will be there in ten minutes with a secure transport," Sarah promised firmly.
True to her word, a heavily armored black SUV pulled onto the dark highway exactly ten minutes later.
Sarah stepped out holding a suppressed tactical rifle, her eyes scanning the dark tree line for any immediate threats.
She quickly loaded Lucas and Florence into the back of the secure vehicle and sped away toward a hidden safehouse.
"I just hacked into Marcus's personal bank accounts while I was driving," Sarah announced grimly from the front seat.
"He didn't just pay off the local police chief, Lucas."
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Sarah handed him a printed financial ledger showing massive, untraceable wire transfers to a notorious overseas account.
"Marcus officially sold the lithium mining rights to a violent international cartel yesterday, and their assassins are already in the city hunting you."
