Chapter 5 - The Hostage
The line went completely dead, leaving only a dial tone echoing in the quiet car.
My father had just assaulted Josh in our own backyard, and the crucial evidence was gone.
"Drive," I screamed at Marcus, hitting the dashboard with my fists.
"We have to get to the house right now!"
Marcus slammed the car into gear and sped out of the hospital parking lot, running a red light.
The fifteen-minute drive took less than seven minutes, but it felt like an absolute eternity.
We screeched into our driveway and threw the car doors open before the vehicle even stopped rolling.
I sprinted toward the wooden side gate, pushing it open so hard it cracked against the brick wall.
The backyard was completely silent and entirely empty.
Josh was nowhere to be found, and his truck was missing from the front curb.
The broken piece of the treehouse railing and the unicorn keychain had also vanished.
"They took him," Marcus gasped, pacing frantically around the muddy grass.
"They took Josh and the evidence."
I fell to my knees in the dirt, completely overwhelmed by the pure evil infecting my family.
They were not just greedy and manipulative anymore.
They were actively attempting to murder anyone who stood between them and the insurance money.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, displaying a blocked caller ID.
I answered it with a trembling hand and put the speakerphone on maximum volume.
"Listen to me very carefully, Rebecca," my mother’s cold voice commanded through the speaker.
"We have your brother-in-law locked securely in the trunk of a very dark car."
I sobbed into the phone, begging her not to hurt him.
"You are going to walk into the police station and confess to pushing Emma," she instructed smoothly.
"You will tell them that Marcus helped you cover it up because you wanted the insurance money."
I realized they were projecting their exact crimes onto us to ensure they got away cleanly.
"If you confess, we will let Josh go, and we will make sure Emma’s funeral is beautiful," my mother promised.
"If you refuse, I will have Charlotte drive this car directly into the deep end of the local reservoir."
I looked at Marcus, whose face was completely pale with sheer terror.
We were trapped in an impossible, agonizing nightmare.
If we confessed, we would go to prison forever, and my parents would legally pull the plug on Emma.
If we refused, Josh would slowly drown in the trunk of a submerged vehicle.
"You have exactly one hour to make your statement to the police," my mother warned.
"Tick tock, Becca."
May you like
She hung up the phone just as a pair of headlights swept across our dark driveway.
A black police cruiser parked directly behind our car, blocking us from leaving the property.
