Chapter 14 - The Custody Trap
I left the kids locked safely in the idling car with the heat blasting, rushing into the diner to use the payphone by the restrooms. I called Marcus's emergency line.
"Julia, where are you?" Marcus demanded, his voice thick with anxiety. "The police just raided your house. They are officially naming you as the prime suspect in Henderson's murder."
I explained David's entire sick plot to frame me. Marcus cursed loudly, slamming something on his desk. He told me that David had already anticipated my flight. Within the last twenty minutes, David's high-powered legal team had filed an emergency injunction with a judge he owned, claiming I had kidnapped the children while experiencing a psychotic break.
"An Amber Alert is going to be issued for your vehicle within the hour," Marcus warned. "You can't use your credit cards, you can't use your car, and you cannot go to the police. David has half the department on his payroll."
I felt the walls closing in. "Marcus, I have the camera. If I can get the footage, maybe I can prove David's men killed Henderson."
"It's a huge risk," Marcus said. "Drive to the old rusted barn on Route 9. Leave your SUV there. I have a beat-up sedan registered under a dummy corporation parked out back. The keys are in the visor, and there is a duffel bag in the trunk with five thousand dollars in untraceable cash, three burner phones, and a map."
I thanked him, tears finally stinging my eyes. He told me the map led to an off-the-grid hunting cabin in the Adirondack Mountains owned by a deceased client of his. It had no internet, no cellular service, and no digital footprint.
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"Go to ground, Julia," Marcus pleaded. "I'll try to find an honest federal judge in the meantime."
I rushed back to the SUV, my resolve hardening into steel. David thought he could use my love for my children as a weakness. He was about to find out it was the most dangerous weapon I possessed.
