Chapter 7 - The Master Manipulator
Mara stared in absolute disbelief as Peter Maddox stood confidently behind the wall of heavily armed police officers.
He was no longer locked inside the underground vault, and he certainly was not wearing the clothes of a captured thief.
"He somehow overrode the vault lockdown and called the police before we even found the bomb," Edward realized, his voice dangerously low.
A dozen SWAT officers swarmed into the lobby, their laser sights dancing aggressively across Edward's chest.
Edward slowly raised his hands in the air, his protective stance keeping Mara safely shielded completely behind his broad shoulders.
"Edward Hale and Mara Ellis, you are both under arrest for the attempted robbery and destruction of the Centennial Museum," Peter announced loudly.
"You are incredibly bold to frame the actual owner of the museum for a robbery, Peter," Edward stated with icy calm.
"The owner of a failing trust fund who orchestrated a massive insurance scam to cover his massive gambling debts," Peter countered smoothly.
Mara gasped at the sheer audacity of the lie, realizing Peter had fabricated an entire narrative to make Edward look like a desperate, ruined man.
A police captain stepped forward, ordering his men to place heavy iron handcuffs on Edward's wrists.
"And the girl is his accomplice, she used her security clearance to easily bypass the alarms," Peter added, offering Mara a vicious, fake smile of disappointment.
Two officers grabbed Mara by the arms, forcing her hands behind her back and snapping the cold metal cuffs securely closed.
"You will never get away with this, Marcus is unconscious in the basement and he will definitely testify against you," Mara yelled furiously.
Peter sighed dramatically, shaking his head as if pitying her desperate, pathetic delusions.
"Unfortunately, Captain, these two murdered our chief of security in cold blood when he tried to stop their theft," Peter lied flawlessly.
Mara felt the blood drain entirely from her face, realizing Peter had likely killed his own accomplice to permanently tie up loose ends.
They were dragged out of the museum and thrown aggressively into the back of two separate, heavily armored police cruisers.
Mara sat in the pitch-black darkness of the police car, completely separated from Edward and utterly terrified.
She watched through the grated window as Peter casually handed a heavy black duffel bag directly to the police captain.
"Here is the recovered jewelry, Captain, thankfully I arrived in time to securely lock down the assets," Peter said smoothly.
The captain nodded gratefully, completely oblivious to the fact that the bag likely contained cheap replicas instead of the real diamonds.
The police cruiser lurched forward, driving Mara away from the museum and directly toward the city's maximum-security holding facility.
Mara closed her eyes, trying to suppress the overwhelming, suffocating panic bubbling in her chest.
She was completely framed for domestic terrorism, grand larceny, and murder, with absolutely no way to prove her innocence.
Suddenly, the police cruiser took a sharp, highly aggressive turn down a dark, abandoned industrial alleyway.
The driver slammed on the brakes, throwing Mara forcefully against the hard metal partition.
The front doors of the cruiser opened, and the two uniformed police officers stepped out into the dark, empty alley.
One of the officers walked to the back door, pulled out a heavy set of keys, and swung the door wide open.
He reached in, grabbed Mara roughly by the arm, and dragged her out forcefully into the freezing night air.
"Peter sends his regards, Miss Ellis," the officer sneered, drawing his service weapon and aiming it directly at her head.
Before the corrupted cop could pull the trigger, the deafening roar of a luxury sports car engine completely shattered the silence of the alley.
A sleek, bulletproof Aston Martin aggressively smashed into the side of the police cruiser, sending the two officers flying onto the pavement.
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The passenger door of the sports car popped open, revealing Edward Hale sitting in the driver's seat with a fierce, bloodthirsty glare.
"Get in, right now!" Edward roared over the terrifying sound of the revving engine.
