Chapter 4 - The Target on My Back
The gravity of the detective's words sucked all the air out of the small interrogation room.
I asked him how Julian could possibly be involved with a violent drug cartel.
The detective explained that Julian's investment firm was actually a front for laundering cartel drug money.
Julian had panicked when he lost their funds in a bad investment and tried to replace it by stealing my identity.
The cartel had just discovered the missing three million dollars and was actively hunting for the person who signed the transfer.
Because Julian had forged my signature, the cartel believed I was the one who stole their money.
Detective Harrison quickly uncuffed me and told me that the local precinct was no longer safe.
He explained that the FBI was taking over the case and placing me in immediate protective custody.
My father arrived at the precinct with a team of heavily armed private security contractors.
He hugged me tightly and promised that nobody was going to hurt me ever again.
The FBI agents rushed us out of the back exit of the police station and into a bulletproof SUV.
We drove for two hours until we reached a highly secure, isolated safehouse hidden in the mountains.
The safehouse was a massive concrete fortress surrounded by high fences and dozens of cameras.
I sat on the edge of the bed, feeling completely exhausted and entirely overwhelmed by the day's events.
My secure government phone suddenly rang with an incoming call from an unknown number.
I hesitated, but my father nodded and told me to answer it on speakerphone.
It was Eleanor, and she was crying hysterically on the other end of the line.
She begged me to drop the police charges against Julian immediately.
She claimed that dangerous men had broken into her house looking for the missing money.
I coldly told her that Julian had made his choices and he had to face the consequences alone.
Eleanor screamed that I was a selfish monster who was sending her only son to his death.
In her frantic rage, she accidentally revealed a terrifying piece of information.
She yelled that Julian had already given the cartel my exact location in exchange for his own life.
I asked her how Julian could possibly know where the FBI had hidden me.
Eleanor laughed bitterly and said that Julian had installed a military-grade tracking chip inside my car weeks ago.
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The FBI agent in the room immediately drew his weapon and yelled for everyone to take cover.
A massive explosion suddenly shattered the reinforced steel gates of the safehouse.
