Chapter 4 - The Empty House
The television anchor explained that millions of dollars were missing from the law firm's primary trust accounts.
Otis stared at the screen, immediately putting the terrifying puzzle pieces together in his brilliant legal mind.
He realized the fake Hilton Head vacation was just a desperate cover story to flee the country before the FBI caught them.
Wade and Caroline needed my money for untraceable cash to fund their illegal escape.
I grabbed my car keys, ignoring the doctor's strict orders to rest my recovering eye.
I told Otis we had to drive to Caroline's house right now to secure the safety of Hudson and May.
We sped across town, breaking multiple speed limits to reach their upscale suburban neighborhood.
When we pulled into the driveway, the front door of their beautiful home was standing wide open to the warm May breeze.
I sprinted up the concrete walkway and burst into the house, screaming my grandchildren's names into the silence.
The house was completely stripped of all valuable items, electronics, and personal luggage.
I ran upstairs to the nursery, finding empty cribs and drawers that had been violently emptied onto the floor.
Panic completely consumed me as I realized my daughter was a dangerous fugitive on the run.
Otis walked into the kitchen and called out to me in a grim, steady voice.
He pointed to a single piece of printer paper that had been aggressively nailed to the drywall with a kitchen knife.
I pulled the paper down with trembling hands and read the printed itinerary for a private charter flight to South America.
The flight was scheduled to leave from a private airstrip in less than three hours.
I scanned the passenger manifest printed at the bottom of the page, searching for the names of my babies.
There were only two seats purchased on the private jet.
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Caroline had bought a ticket for herself, and she had bought a ticket for Wade.
My daughter had intentionally abandoned her four-year-old son and eight-month-old baby to escape federal prison.
