My father b//e/at me until I blacked out, then left me half-dressed on the street while my mother recorded it and laughed, saying, “Look at you. You’re pathetic.” I woke up 14 hours later in a hospital with three broken ribs. I didn’t argue or beg. I called my lawyer and handed her a blue folder. They still had no idea it contained evidence that could destroy everything they had built.

The acrid tear gas burned my eyes and throat instantly, forcing me into a violent fit of coughing.

Miller grabbed my arm tightly and dragged me blindly toward the back door of the cabin.

"Keep your head down and move fast!" he yelled over the sound of breaking glass.

Assault rifles began firing from the tree line, shredding the wooden walls of the safe house like paper.

We burst through the back door and sprinted into the freezing, pitch-black woods.

Sarah was right behind us, clutching her briefcase as if her own life depended on it.

Vance laid down suppressing fire with his handgun, covering our frantic retreat toward the hidden police vehicle.

A bullet struck the metal frame of the car just inches from my head, sending sparks flying into the dark.

Miller shoved me into the back seat and dove behind the steering wheel.

He threw the engine into gear and slammed his foot entirely down on the gas pedal.

The vehicle tore through the dirt road, leaving the burning safe house far behind us.

"Is everyone okay?" Miller shouted, wiping blood from a deep graze on his left shoulder.

"I am fine, but how did they track us so quickly?" Sarah asked, gasping for fresh air.

Vance checked his laptop, which he had miraculously managed to save during the chaotic ambush.

His face dropped as he stared at the glowing screen in the darkness of the moving car.

"The leak did not come from the burner phone," Vance confessed bitterly.

"The GPS tracker in this police vehicle was pinged directly by the Chief of Police ten minutes ago."

The realization hit us all like a physical blow to the stomach.

The police chief was on the cartel's payroll, and he had personally sold out our location to the hit squad.

We were officially completely alone, hunted by both the law and the criminal underworld.

"We need to go on the offensive," I declared, my fear suddenly transforming into absolute, burning rage.

"Where is the only place they would never expect us to go?"

Sarah looked at me, her eyes widening as she realized exactly what I was suggesting.

"You cannot be serious, Daniela," she warned.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

"We are going back to Greenwich," I told her, my voice completely devoid of hesitation.

"I am going to break into my father's mansion and steal the original video from his private server."

Chapter 5 - The Getaway