Chapter 3 - The Hidden Vault
The hospital room descended into absolute chaos as the marshals disarmed the corrupt local police.
Patricia shrieked in horror as a federal agent placed her in handcuffs and read her rights.
Gregory tried to sprint toward the emergency exit, but two marshals tackled him violently to the linoleum floor.
I wrapped Abigail in a thick blanket and personally carried her out to an armored transport vehicle waiting outside.
We drove through the dark streets of Charlotte until we reached a highly secure military safe house on the outskirts of Fort Liberty.
Once Abigail was resting in a sterile, heavily guarded bedroom, I sat beside her.
"Why did they do this to you, Abby?" I asked softly, gently brushing the hair away from her bandaged forehead.
"It wasn't just about control, Mom," she whispered, her voice trembling with lingering fear.
She explained that she had accidentally discovered a hidden safe behind a painting in Nicholas's private study.
The door had been left slightly ajar after a night of heavy drinking.
"I looked inside because I was searching for my passport so I could finally run away," she explained.
Instead of her travel documents, she found stacks of encrypted hard drives and classified blueprints.
"They are selling advanced drone navigation codes to foreign military contractors," Abigail cried.
My blood ran absolutely cold.
The Fergusons were not just domestic abusers and corrupt billionaires.
They were committing high treason against the United States of America.
"I took one of the flash drives and hid it in the lining of my winter coat," Abigail confessed.
"That is why Nicholas beat me, he was trying to find out where I put it."
I immediately stood up and walked to the closet where we had hung her torn, bloody clothing from the hospital.
I ripped the lining of the white designer coat open with my bare hands.
The small, black flash drive was still securely nestled inside the fabric.
I plugged it into my encrypted military laptop to verify the contents.
Instead of classified blueprints, the screen flashed bright red with a blaring warning alarm.
A live video feed suddenly popped up on my screen.
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It was Nicholas, sitting in a dark room and smiling directly into the camera.
"I knew you would take the bait, Colonel," he laughed over the speakers.
