Chapter 10 - The False Victory
The courtroom erupted into absolute chaos.
Mark was dragged out in handcuffs, sobbing loudly and begging his lawyer to do something.
Megan tried to slip out the back door, but a burly bailiff grabbed her by the arm and forced her to sit down.
The judge slammed her gavel repeatedly until the room finally fell silent.
"Case dismissed," the judge announced, her voice shaking with residual anger.
"Full and immediate physical custody is returned to the mother."
I closed my eyes and let out a breath I felt like I had been holding for three days.
I had won.
I had destroyed the monsters who tried to take my daughter, and they were going to spend years in federal prison.
I walked out of the courtroom and into the bright, marble hallway.
A social worker was standing near the elevators, holding Lily’s hand.
"Mommy!" Lily screamed, breaking away and running toward me.
I dropped to my knees and caught her, burying my face in her neck as I cried tears of pure, unadulterated joy.
"Let's go home, baby," I whispered, kissing her cheeks a dozen times.
Zoe smiled warmly, wiping a tear from her own eye.
"Come on," Zoe said, picking up my briefcase.
"My car is in the underground VIP garage. Let's get out of here and celebrate."
We took the private elevator down to the darkest level of the parking garage.
Zoe’s massive black Escalade was parked in the corner, idling quietly.
I opened the back door and buckled Lily securely into her car seat.
I climbed into the front passenger seat, feeling completely exhausted but wonderfully safe.
Zoe got into the driver’s seat.
She didn't put the car in drive.
Instead, she pressed a button on the door panel.
All four heavy steel locks clicked shut simultaneously with a loud, final thud.
I looked over at Zoe, expecting to see her smiling.
Her warm, friendly expression was completely gone.
Her eyes were dead, cold, and entirely unfamiliar.
"Zoe?" I asked, my heart suddenly skipping a beat.
"What are you doing?"
Zoe reached into her expensive designer purse and pulled out a heavy, black pistol.
She rested the barrel casually on her lap, pointing it directly at my stomach.
"Mark was a useful idiot for keeping you distracted," Zoe whispered, her voice chillingly calm.
"He actually thought he could steal half a billion dollars from the cartel."
I froze, the blood turning to ice in my veins.
Zoe smiled, a terrifying, soulless curve of her lips.
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"But my boss has been waiting five years for his daughter and his granddaughter to finally come home," she said.
"And your father is not a patient man."
