Chapter 8 - The Queen of Austin
My mother was not lying dead on a cold slab in the city morgue.
I watched in absolute shock as a second wave of armed men swept through the forest, executing Sarah's mercenaries.
The tactical lasers vanished from the train car as the ambush was completely reversed.
A heavily armored black SUV rolled down the dirt path and stopped directly in front of the train doors.
The passenger window rolled down, revealing my mother looking perfectly healthy and incredibly dangerous.
She wore a tailored black suit and a diamond necklace that cost more than my fake Dallas salary.
She looked at me and coldly ordered me to get the child into the vehicle immediately.
I grabbed Maya and scrambled into the back seat, completely overwhelmed by the chaos.
I demanded to know whose body I had just identified in the police basement an hour ago.
Evelyn smirked and said it was a highly realistic silicone mask placed on a dead decoy.
She had faked her own assassination to draw Sarah's elite hit squad out of hiding.
I realized my mother was not a victim of extortion at all.
She was the absolute reigning queen of the Austin criminal underworld.
I asked her why she let Maya starve in that filthy apartment if she was so incredibly powerful.
Evelyn looked at me through the rearview mirror with eyes completely devoid of pity.
She calmly stated that hardship builds character, and Maya needed to be tough to inherit the empire.
She had deliberately forced Maya into poverty to harden her spirit for the coming war against Sarah.
I felt violently sick to my stomach, realizing both the women in my life were absolute psychopaths.
I secretly wrapped my arm around Maya, searching the doors for a way to escape this rolling fortress.
Evelyn noticed my panic and locked the doors electronically from the front console.
She told me to relax, because we were going to end this family feud tonight.
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She handed me a heavy, loaded assault rifle from the floorboards.
Evelyn smiled wickedly and announced that we were going to pay Sarah a surprise visit at her private estate.
