Chapter 6 - The Blood In The Office
I didn't bother trying to find the hidden camera.
I shoved Elliot against my chest, grabbed my bag, and climbed straight out the back window of the motel bathroom.
I dropped into an overgrown alley and ran toward a dark commuter parking lot across the street.
I needed a vehicle immediately, and I didn't have the luxury of time or money.
A tired waitress was just walking away from an old, rusted sedan, her keys still dangling from the trunk lock.
I whispered a silent, desperate apology to the universe as I grabbed the keys, jumped into the driver’s seat, and sped away.
I knew exactly where I had to go.
If my parents were tracking me, and Julian was hacking my life, I needed hard leverage to fight back.
I drove recklessly toward the towering glass skyscraper that housed my father’s corporate headquarters.
It was past midnight, and the massive building was mostly dark, save for the elite executive suites on the top floor.
I used the stolen keycard I had quietly slipped from the vault manager's desk earlier to bypass the private parking garage elevator.
I rode the glass elevator all the way to the penthouse level, my heart beating so loudly I thought it would wake the baby.
The heavy mahogany doors to my father’s private office were slightly ajar.
I pushed them open slowly, expecting to find my parents plotting my capture with their ruthless security team.
The luxurious office was completely trashed.
Expensive paintings were ripped from the walls, and the massive oak desk was split entirely in half.
The hidden steel wall safe had been blown violently open, its heavy door hanging by a single twisted hinge.
I took a slow step into the room, my shoes sticking strangely to the expensive Persian rug.
I looked down and realized the dark stains soaking into the carpet were fresh blood.
Behind the ruined desk, my father was lying on his back, gasping wetly for air.
His crisp white shirt was completely saturated with dark red blood from a massive chest wound.
I rushed to his side, dropping to my knees despite everything he had done to me.
He reached up with a violently trembling, bloody hand and grabbed my hospital gown.
“Clara,” he choked out, coughing up a terrifying spray of crimson.
“Who did this to you?” I cried out, assuming Julian had finally caught up to him.
May you like
My father’s eyes widened with absolute terror as he stared past me at the open doorway.
“It wasn't Julian,” he whispered with his dying breath.
