Chapter 5 - The Crash
The heavy black sedan smashed violently into the thick concrete barricade at terrifying speed.
Airbags exploded from the dashboard in a massive cloud of white smoke and burning powder.
Claire had managed to perfectly shield Sophie with her own body just before the brutal impact.
She coughed aggressively, her vision spinning wildly as she checked her daughter for any severe injuries.
Sophie was absolutely terrified and crying loudly, but miraculously, she was entirely unharmed.
Mark kicked his jammed door completely open and stumbled out onto the dark, rainy highway.
"We have to move right now before they send a cleanup crew to finish the job," Mark groaned, clutching his bleeding ribs.
Claire crawled out of the wrecked vehicle, abandoning her ruined wedding dress and running in just her slip.
They sprinted desperately across the muddy highway median and disappeared into a dense patch of dark woods.
After running blindly for twenty minutes, they finally reached a cheap, neon-lit motel on the edge of town.
Mark paid the sleepy clerk with cash and quickly rushed them into a filthy room at the back of the building.
Claire immediately locked the heavy deadbolt and collapsed onto the cheap, scratchy mattress.
She carefully pulled the torn envelope from her pocket and finally opened the documents completely.
She read the fine print of the fraudulent trust transfer, her eyes widening in sheer horror.
"The money cannot be legally moved without the signature of Sophie's biological guardian," Claire read aloud.
She looked at Mark, her mind racing desperately to understand how Evan planned to bypass the law.
"I never signed these papers, Mark, the signature is a complete forgery," Claire stated confidently.
Mark walked over, inspected the documents closely, and frowned with absolute, undeniable dread.
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"That is not a forgery, Claire, that is a legally binding transfer authorized by a judge this morning."
Claire realized with sickening clarity that Evan had secretly drugged her morning coffee and forced her to sign the papers while she was entirely unconscious.
