Chapter 4 - The Betrayed Meds
Sheriff Watkins bumped the back of our speeding truck with his heavy steel push bar.
The violent impact sent us swerving recklessly across the empty two-lane country highway.
"Hold on tightly!" Lucy screamed, fighting the steering wheel to keep us safely on the asphalt.
"He is actively trying to run us off the road!" Mom cried out, gripping my hand with astonishing strength.
David rolled down the passenger window and leaned far out into the rushing, violent wind.
He aimed his federal weapon directly at the cruiser's front tires, waiting patiently for a clear shot.
"Don't shoot a police officer, David, they will lock us away forever!" I pleaded from the backseat.
"He is not a cop right now, he is a hired hitman," David yelled back over the deafening wind.
He fired two quick, precise shots, popping the cruiser's front right tire instantly with a loud bang.
The police car skidded completely out of control, crashing safely into a deep ditch full of tall grass.
Lucy floored the accelerator, putting valuable miles between us and the corrupt local sheriff.
We drove in absolute, terrified silence for twenty minutes until we reached the abandoned county line.
Lucy pulled into the dark parking lot of a decaying motel hidden perfectly by thick pine trees.
We desperately needed a safe place to hide and figure out our impossible next move.
We broke the rusty lock on room number four and ushered Mom inside to rest on the bed.
David began pacing the stained carpet, pulling out his encrypted burner phone to call for federal backup.
I sat next to Mom on the sagging mattress and carefully unbuttoned her heavy blue wool coat.
She winced in sharp pain as the terrible bruised ribs were exposed to the cool air of the room.
"I am so incredibly sorry I didn't see this happening sooner, Mom," I whispered, hot tears blurring my vision.
She reached out with her trembling, rope-burned wrists and gently cupped my crying face.
"It is not your fault, my sweet, brave girl," she answered softly.
She reached into the deep inner pocket of the wool coat and pulled out a small black notebook.
"I knew he was stealing my money, so I started writing down every single transaction," she revealed proudly.
I opened the book and gasped at the meticulous financial records she had secretly kept for months.
It was more than enough solid evidence to put Wade and the Sheriff in federal prison for decades.
"This is exactly everything we need to win," David said, examining the pages with a victorious smile.
Suddenly, Mom's eyes rolled entirely back in her head, and she collapsed heavily onto the mattress.
I screamed her name in pure terror, shaking her fragile shoulders frantically.
Her chest was barely moving at all, and her skin was rapidly turning a horrifying shade of pale gray.
May you like
David checked her pulse, his own face draining completely of all living color.
"He tampered with her daily heart medication," David realized in absolute, suffocating horror.
