Chapter 10 - The Ultimate Betrayal
The heavy rain began to slow, washing the blood completely off the marble driveway.
The police captain walked over and placed a respectful hand on my tired shoulder.
"We found the servers downstairs, David," the captain said gently.
"You dismantled the biggest trafficking ring in the state tonight."
I nodded slowly, just thankful that my precious daughter was finally safe.
Audrey sat perfectly still on the edge of the ambulance, staring blankly ahead.
I reached out and gently took her cold hand in mine.
"We are going home," I promised her quietly.
Audrey slowly turned her head to look directly into my eyes.
She wiped a single, perfectly timed tear from her bruised cheek.
Then, her lips curled upward into a chilling, absolutely perfect smile.
"We aren't going anywhere together, Dad," she whispered softly.
I frowned, deeply confused by the sudden emptiness in her voice.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, encrypted black hard drive.
She handed the digital drive directly to the corrupt police captain standing beside me.
The captain smiled warmly at her, took the drive, and immediately pulled out a pair of steel handcuffs.
"What is going on?" I demanded, standing up from the ambulance bumper.
The captain violently grabbed my arms and locked the heavy metal cuffs tightly around my wrists.
"David, you are under arrest for the murder of Miriam Thorne," the captain stated coldly.
I stared at Audrey in complete and utter disbelief.
"You really thought I was scared of Julian?" Audrey laughed quietly, her voice devoid of any human emotion.
"Julian and Arthur were weak, terrible businessmen who were ruining my criminal empire."
My heart shattered as the horrifying truth finally clicked into place.
"I needed a highly credible, violent scapegoat to wipe out my rivals and take full control of the syndicate," she explained smoothly.
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She leaned in close, kissing my rough cheek tenderly.
"Thanks for doing the dirty work, Dad," she whispered into my ear.
