Chapter 5 - The Race for the Truth
"I have to beat her there," Chris said, already sprinting toward the cafeteria exit.
"Chris, wait!" I yelled, chasing after him into the parking garage.
"She's unhinged."
"If she catches you in that house, she will do anything to protect herself."
Chris unlocked his truck, his jaw set in a hard, determined line.
"She almost killed my nephew, Jason."
"I am not going to let her take your custody away on top of it."
He sped out of the parking structure, leaving me standing in the cold exhaust fumes.
I paced the hospital lobby for the next thirty minutes, checking my phone every ten seconds.
Sarah sat next to my father, both of them praying silently while the ICU nurses moved briskly upstairs.
Over at the Davis house, the situation was turning into a nightmare.
Chris later told me exactly what happened when he pulled into their driveway.
Megan's SUV was already parked haphazardly on the lawn, the driver's door left wide open.
Chris ran inside, finding the living room completely trashed.
Megan was tearing through the entertainment center, ripping cords out of the wall like a madwoman.
"Where is it?" she shrieked, throwing a gaming console across the room.
"Where is the hard drive, Chris?"
Chris slowly backed toward the hallway closet, where the actual server was hidden behind some winter coats.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Megan," he lied smoothly.
Megan spun around, holding a heavy brass candlestick in her right hand.
Her eyes were wild, her expensive clothes stained and wrinkled from the jail cell.
"My lawyer told me about the basement camera!" she screamed.
"If the police see that footage, I'm going to prison for twenty years!"
"Give it to me right now!"
Chris lunged for the closet, pulling open the door and grabbing the small black box off the top shelf.
He jammed the USB cable into his phone, frantically trying to download the video file to his cloud drive.
The download bar appeared on his screen, creeping agonizingly slowly from ten percent to twenty.
Megan saw the blue light of the hard drive and let out a feral scream.
She charged at him, swinging the heavy brass candlestick directly at his head.
Chris ducked, the brass smashing a hole straight through the drywall.
He kicked her backward, desperately shielding his phone with his body.
"Eighty percent," Chris muttered, watching the screen as Megan scrambled to her feet.
She grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter and pointed it at him, panting heavily.
"Cancel the download, Chris, or I swear to God I will stab you," she threatened.
Chris looked at the blade, then looked down at the screen.
"Ninety-nine percent," the phone flashed.
Suddenly, a massive crash echoed from the front porch.
The front door was kicked open with such force that it ripped completely off its hinges.
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Three armed police officers stormed into the room with their weapons drawn.
"Drop the knife!" the lead officer roared.
