Chapter 3 - The Abandoned Factory
I sprinted back to my rental car and immediately punched the GPS coordinates into my phone.
The location was an abandoned concrete manufacturing plant on the industrial outskirts of the city.
My father's construction company had owned that massive property decades ago before it was shut down.
I realized Evelyn was using the old family properties to run her illegal operations.
I drove into the desolate industrial zone, surrounded by decaying buildings and rusted machinery.
I parked my car behind a massive pile of concrete rubble to remain completely hidden.
I pulled a heavy metal tire iron from my trunk to use as a makeshift weapon.
The factory was surrounded by a high chain-link fence topped with razor wire.
I found a rusted gap in the corner of the fence and squeezed my body through the sharp metal.
The main warehouse was pitch black, but a faint light flickered from the loading dock area.
I crept silently along the shadows of the brick wall until I reached the illuminated garage.
The fake ambulance was parked inside, completely empty with its rear doors hanging wide open.
I cautiously stepped into the garage, gripping the heavy tire iron tightly in my sweaty hands.
Suddenly, a heavy set of footsteps echoed from the metal catwalk directly above me.
I pressed my back against the ambulance to hide in its massive shadow.
A man climbed down the rusty ladder, holding a bright tactical flashlight in his hand.
As the light swept across the floor, I recognized his incredibly familiar face.
It was Marcus, my father's old business partner who had supposedly died of a heart attack last year.
I stepped out of the shadows and raised my weapon defensively.
Marcus flinched and immediately dropped his flashlight in pure shock.
"You are supposed to be dead," I whispered angrily.
Marcus held his hands up in a gesture of peaceful surrender.
"Evelyn forced me to fake my death after I found out about the black market adoptions," he confessed quickly.
He explained that Evelyn had threatened to murder his entire family if he did not disappear forever.
"I can help you find Claire, but we have to move right now," Marcus pleaded.
He led me toward a heavy steel door hidden behind a stack of rotting wooden pallets.
Marcus swiped a stolen keycard, and the heavy door clicked open to reveal a descending staircase.
As soon as we stepped inside, the steel door violently slammed shut behind us.
The electronic lock beeped aggressively, trapping us in the dark stairwell.
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A digital voice echoed from a hidden speaker on the ceiling.
"Incineration protocol activated," the cold robotic voice announced.
