Chapter 3 - The Cold Water
My car plummeted off the steep embankment and crashed violently into the freezing river below.
The icy water instantly shattered the driver's side window and began flooding the dark cabin.
I unbuckled my seatbelt with violently trembling hands as the water level rapidly rose past my chest.
I took one final, desperate breath of air before the entire vehicle was completely submerged.
I swam out through the broken window and kicked my legs furiously toward the murky surface.
My lungs burned with an agonizing fire as I finally broke through the water and gasped for oxygen.
I paddled to the muddy riverbank and collapsed onto the wet grass, shivering uncontrollably in the freezing rain.
I checked my pocket and felt a massive wave of relief when my fingers brushed against the silver flash drive.
I forced myself to stand up and began walking through the dense woods to avoid the main highway.
I walked for two agonizing hours until I stumbled upon a small, rundown truck stop diner.
I used the last of my cash to buy a cheap burner smartphone from the convenience store rack.
I locked myself inside a dirty bathroom stall and plugged the flash drive into the bottom of the phone using an adapter.
The digital screen lit up with hundreds of highly encrypted banking documents and email transcripts.
I opened an audio file labeled with my mother's name and pressed the play button.
The recording was a secret wiretap Ethan had captured just a week before his death.
I heard my mother's voice coldly complaining that Lily was always a terribly annoying child and would not be missed.
She casually instructed Brandon's hitman to make sure the freight truck completely crushed the passenger side of the car.
I dropped the phone onto the bathroom floor and sobbed uncontrollably as the sheer evil of her words broke my heart.
My own mother had actively ordered the brutal murder of her innocent granddaughter without a single ounce of hesitation.
I wiped my tears and swore a silent vow to destroy every single person who had taken my family away from me.
I picked up the phone and dialed the number of Ethan's former security consultant, a man named Marcus.
Marcus answered on the first ring and immediately recognized the panic in my voice.
He told me to stay exactly where I was and promised to extract me within twenty minutes.
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I hung up the phone and waited in the dark, finally feeling a tiny glimmer of hope.
Then the bathroom door violently kicked open, revealing a massive cartel mercenary holding a shotgun.
