Chapter 7 - The Bribe
"Get in the car, Camille," Brenda ordered, gesturing with the barrel of the gun.
I stared down the dark barrel of the weapon, my heart hammering violently against my ribs.
She wasn't just a corrupt social worker taking bribes; she was a hired cleaner for my family.
"If you shoot me here on the street, the State Police will find my body in ten minutes," I bluffed, tightening my grip on the laptop.
Brenda smirked, cocking the hammer of the pistol.
"They won't find a body, sweetheart," she said coldly.
"They will find a suicide note from a hysterical mother who couldn't handle the guilt of poisoning her own child."
I realized in that exact moment that I had absolutely nothing left to lose.
I threw the heavy metal laptop directly at the windshield of the SUV.
The glass shattered into a spiderweb pattern, startling Brenda long enough for her to flinch and drop her aim.
I turned and sprinted blindly into the dense woods bordering the highway, ignoring the sharp branches tearing at my clothes.
"Get back here!" Brenda screamed from the road.
I heard the heavy thud of the SUV door opening and the sound of her expensive heels snapping against the pavement.
I didn't look back.
I pushed deeper into the trees, using the thick morning fog to mask my escape route.
I found a small, muddy ravine hidden beneath a fallen oak tree and slid down into the darkness.
I curled myself into a tight ball, holding the trust documents under my jacket to keep them dry.
Footsteps crunched through the dead leaves just a few yards above my hiding spot.
"Your father is going to kill you himself when I find you," Brenda yelled into the silent woods.
I covered my mouth with both hands, forcing my breathing to stay completely silent.
She paced back and forth for what felt like an eternity, her frustration growing with every passing minute.
Finally, the distant sound of police sirens echoed through the trees.
The State Police were arriving at the coordinates I had given the dispatcher.
Brenda cursed loudly, realizing she had run out of time.
She turned around and ran back toward her damaged SUV, desperate to escape before the cops found her.
I waited until I heard her tires screeching against the asphalt before I finally climbed out of the ravine.
I ran toward the flashing red and blue lights of the state trooper vehicles blocking the highway.
When I burst out of the tree line, covered in mud and blood, three troopers instantly drew their weapons.
"Put your hands in the air!" the lead trooper shouted.
"I am Camille Vance!" I yelled, dropping to my knees and holding the red-taped documents high in the air.
"My family is trying to murder my daughter at the local hospital right now."
The lead trooper lowered his weapon, his eyes widening as he recognized my name from the dispatch call.
May you like
"Get her in the cruiser," he ordered his men.
"We are raiding the hospital."
