Chapter 3 - The Corrupt Chase
We were completely trapped inside the dead, useless vehicle.
Wade slowly walked down the concrete driveway, swinging a heavy steel tire iron with vicious intent.
"Lock the doors right now!" David yelled, reaching into his vest for his spare ammunition.
I slammed my hand down on the electronic locks, but there was absolutely no battery power to engage them.
I manually pushed down the lock on my door just as Wade reached the passenger side window.
He smashed the tire iron against the glass, spider-webbing the reinforced window with a deafening crack.
Mom screamed loudly and covered her ears from the terrifying, shattering noise.
"I have legal guardianship, Claire!" Wade shouted like a madman through the cracked glass.
"If you take her away, it is kidnapping, and I will see you rot in federal prison."
He raised the heavy metal bar high above his head to strike the weakened glass again.
Suddenly, a massive black pickup truck slammed violently into Wade's parked van, pushing it across the driveway.
The screech of tearing metal distracted Wade long enough for David to kick his own door open.
David tackled Wade into the front yard grass, sending the deadly tire iron flying into the bushes.
"Get into the truck, Claire!" a frantic voice yelled from the driver's seat of the battered pickup.
It was Lucy, her face bruised and bleeding from her father's immediate retaliation in the house.
I grabbed Mom tightly by her heavy blue coat and dragged her out of the dead police car.
We scrambled desperately into the extended cab of Lucy's stolen construction company truck.
David landed a brutal punch directly to Wade's jaw, stunning him in the grass for just a precious second.
He sprinted toward the truck and dove into the passenger seat as Lucy hammered the gas pedal.
We tore out of the quiet neighborhood, leaving deep, black tire marks on the suburban street.
My heart pounded so hard it physically hurt my ribs as we sped away.
"Why are you helping us risk everything, Lucy?" I asked, panting heavily for breath.
She gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning completely white from the strain.
"He didn't just steal the savings from her accounts, Claire," Lucy confessed with a violently shaking voice.
"He took out a three-million-dollar life insurance policy on her life last month."
Mom gasped loudly in the backseat, clutching her chest in sheer, undeniable horror.
"And the absolute worst part is," Lucy continued, wiping a stray tear from her bruised eye.
"The policy has a double indemnity clause if she dies in a tragic, unexpected accident."
Before I could fully process this terrifying nightmare, a loud police siren wailed directly behind us.
A local cruiser was riding our bumper aggressively, its lights flashing violently in the rearview mirror.
Lucy looked at the mirror and let out a terrified, hopeless sob.
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"That is Sheriff Watkins," she whispered, her voice entirely devoid of hope.
"He is the corrupt cop who helped my dad forge the guardianship papers in the first place."
