Chapter 4 - The Midnight Escape
Roman completely refused to believe that Julian would ever harm his own nephews.
"You are lying to manipulate me," Roman accused her, drawing his hidden firearm.
"Look at the security footage again and watch the intruder's hands," Josephine challenged him calmly.
"The man who grabbed Oliver was actively pulling a lethal syringe from his tactical vest."
Roman quickly pulled up the dashboard footage on his phone and zoomed in closely.
She was absolutely right.
A deadly, silver needle had been inches away from his crying son's neck.
"We need to get the boys out of this house immediately," Roman ordered, finally trusting her.
"Julian knows all your standard evacuation protocols and safe house locations," Josephine warned.
"Then we will go somewhere completely off the grid," Roman decided instantly.
They rushed to the heavily guarded bedrooms and quietly woke the two frightened boys.
Roman completely bypassed his standard armored convoy vehicles parked in the front driveway.
Instead, he led them down to a secret underground garage holding an old, untraceable truck.
Josephine strapped the sleepy children securely into the spacious back seat.
Roman took the wheel and punched the heavy gas pedal, speeding out into the stormy night.
The torrential rain heavily masked their desperate escape from the sprawling estate.
They drove for two agonizing hours toward the dark, heavily wooded mountains of West Virginia.
"Where exactly are you taking us?" Josephine asked, constantly checking the dark rearview mirror.
"I own an abandoned hunting cabin that has never been registered under my real name," Roman answered.
The truck violently rattled as they turned onto a steep, unpaved logging road in the forest.
Suddenly, the high-beam headlights illuminated a massive fallen tree completely blocking the muddy path.
Roman slammed hard on the brakes, throwing them all forcefully forward against their seatbelts.
"Stay entirely down!" Roman yelled, instantly drawing his weapon.
Four bright tactical spotlights abruptly switched on from the dark trees surrounding the truck.
A heavy barrage of automatic gunfire began tearing through the metal doors of their vehicle.
Josephine unbuckled her seatbelt and violently kicked the passenger door open.
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"I will draw their fire while you get the boys into the woods!" she screamed over the noise.
Before Roman could stop her, she dove directly out of the truck into the muddy darkness.
