Chapter 3 - The Secret Safe
My brother finally posted my massive bail just as the sun began to rise.
I sprinted out of the police precinct and jumped directly into the driver's seat of his car.
I completely ignored every single speed limit as I raced frantically back to my house.
I knew Rachel had returned there to pack her bags before heading to the airport.
The front door was completely unlocked when I violently kicked it open.
The living room was an absolute disaster of scattered clothes and overturned furniture.
Rachel was already gone.
I ran upstairs to the master bedroom, desperately searching for any clue about her destination.
I tore the heavy paintings off the walls and ripped the expensive carpets up from the floor.
Behind our massive oak bookshelf, I discovered a hidden wall safe that I never knew existed.
I grabbed a heavy steel hammer from the garage and smashed the digital keypad until the locking mechanism shattered.
I pulled the heavy metal door open and found a large collection of disturbing items.
There were five different passports completely filled with Rachel's photograph.
Every single passport featured a completely different false name and a different country of origin.
She was an international con artist, and our entire marriage was a deeply calculated fraud.
At the very bottom of the safe lay a printed flight itinerary for a private jet leaving from a local airstrip.
I grabbed the papers and rushed back down the stairs to my brother's car.
Suddenly, the television in the living room turned itself on with a deafening blast of static.
A live video call automatically connected on the smart screen.
Rachel was sitting in the back of a moving luxury vehicle, holding a sleeping Sophie in her lap.
"You actually found the safe," Rachel said, sounding genuinely amused by my desperate efforts.
"If you hurt one single hair on her head, I will end you," I threatened furiously.
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Rachel reached into her purse and pulled out a small, highly dangerous explosive device.
"You have exactly one hour to wire ten million dollars to my offshore account, or I will drop this directly into Sophie's lap," Rachel smiled.
