Chapter 3 - The Broken Trust
I stared at the grainy video of my son on the phone screen.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs, but fifteen years of tactical training kept my breathing steady.
I looked the fake federal agent dead in the eyes.
“You made a terrible mistake pulling me out of that courtroom.”
The man laughed, keeping his silenced pistol pressed firmly against me.
“And why is that, Sergeant?”
“Because in that courtroom, I had to play by the rules.”
I instantly pivoted my weight onto my good leg and drove my cane upward into his wrist.
The pistol fired wildly into the dirt as the bones in his hand shattered with a sickening crunch.
I spun around and drove my elbow squarely into his throat, collapsing his windpipe before he could scream.
The driver jumped out of the SUV with an assault rifle, but I was already moving.
I grabbed the dropped pistol from the mud and fired two precise shots into his kneecaps.
He hit the ground screaming in agony.
I kicked the rifle away and pressed the hot barrel of my pistol against the driver’s forehead.
“Where is the van holding my son?”
The driver choked on his own blood, refusing to speak.
I pressed the barrel harder, letting him feel the burning heat of the metal.
“Charlotte,” he finally gasped.
“Give me an address.”
He gave me the location of a private, heavily guarded warehouse in the industrial district.
I took his keys, his spare ammunition, and the burner phone showing Noah’s video feed.
I tied both men to a rusted logging crane using heavy plastic zip-ties from their own tactical gear.
I climbed into the driver’s seat of the black SUV and tore out of the woods.
I broke every speed limit on the highway, driving toward Charlotte like a missile locking onto a target.
My phone rang loudly through the vehicle’s Bluetooth system.
It was Amanda, Daniel’s new wife.
I answered the call, expecting a trap.
“Emma, please don’t hang up,” she whispered frantically.
She sounded terrified, crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.
“Daniel locked me in the master bedroom, and he is packing a bag with all our cash.”
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I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.
“He told the men at the warehouse to kill Noah as soon as you transfer the money.”
