Chapter 2 - The Stolen Records
I stared at the vibrating doorknob as the hot shower steam filled the small bathroom.
I quickly ended the call with the judge and slipped the phone into my pocket.
I grabbed a washcloth and began scrubbing the soap against the tile walls to create the illusion of cleaning.
"Give us a minute, Daniel!" I yelled back, keeping my tone light and apologetic.
"Mom just spilled some shampoo on the floor, and I am wiping it up."
The aggressive rattling of the doorknob stopped, but I could hear his heavy breathing through the thin wood.
"You have two minutes," he warned darkly before his heavy footsteps retreated down the hall.
I turned back to my mother, who was shaking violently in her towel.
I held her hands and promised her that she would never spend another night in this house with them.
I helped her dress in a long-sleeved pajamas set that hid the terrible bruises.
When we finally exited the bathroom, Daniel was standing at the end of the hallway with his arms crossed.
His eyes darted suspiciously between my face and Mom's trembling frame.
"She looks exhausted," Vanessa chimed in, appearing from the kitchen with a large glass of red wine.
"I think it is time for her medication and a long sleep."
I knew exactly what that meant, and I was not going to let them drug her.
"I will tuck her in," I insisted, guiding Mom toward her bedroom before they could argue.
Once she was safely in bed, I sat beside her until her breathing steadied.
I knew my emergency protective order would take a few hours to be processed by the night court.
Until then, I needed to secure the paper trail before Daniel realized the danger he was in.
I waited until the house went completely silent around midnight.
I crept out of the guest room and silently padded down the wooden stairs.
Daniel always kept his important files in the vintage mahogany desk in the den.
The door to his office was locked, but I had learned how to pick simple tumbler locks during my days as a field investigator.
A simple hairpin and a paperclip did the trick in less than ten seconds.
I slipped inside the dark office and turned on my small penlight.
I gently pulled open the bottom drawer of the heavy desk.
Inside, I found a stack of forged bank transfers and the heavily altered deed to the lake house.
But it was the document sitting at the very bottom of the pile that made my blood run ice cold.
It was a one-way international flight itinerary booked for tomorrow morning.
Daniel and Vanessa were not just stealing her money.
They were fleeing the country to a non-extradition territory.
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Before I could process this horrifying realization, a cold metal object pressed firmly against the back of my neck.
"You always were too smart for your own good, little sister," Daniel whispered from the darkness.
