Chapter 6 - The Bleeding Mother
I kicked my jammed door open and carefully pulled Maria and Lily out of the wrecked SUV.
We scrambled away from the edge of the cliff just as the heavy vehicle groaned and tipped backward.
The SUV plummeted into the dark ravine, crashing violently into the rocks far below.
We were stranded in the freezing rain, miles away from civilization, with assassins actively hunting us.
I led them into the dense pine forest, using the harsh weather to cover our tracks.
We walked for hours until we found an abandoned logging cabin hidden deep in the woods.
I broke the rusty padlock with a rock and ushered them inside the dry, dusty room.
Maria wrapped Lily in an old blanket, holding the exhausted child close to her chest.
I watched them huddle together, feeling a fierce, undeniable love for this makeshift family.
I realized I would gladly trade every billion-dollar asset I owned just to see them safe.
I pulled out a secret burner phone I kept hidden in the lining of my shoe for emergencies.
I dialed the only person left in the world I thought I could still trust.
I called my mother, Eleanor, knowing her private security team was independent of my company.
She answered on the first ring, her voice tight with panic.
I told her we were alive and gave her the coordinates to the logging cabin.
She promised to send her most loyal extraction team immediately.
We waited in total darkness, listening to the howling wind rattle the broken windows.
An hour later, a massive black helicopter landed silently in the clearing outside the cabin.
I grabbed Maria’s hand and ran out into the storm, expecting to see my mother's guards.
Instead, the side door of the helicopter slid open, revealing my mother completely alone.
Eleanor stumbled out of the aircraft and collapsed onto the muddy ground.
Her expensive white coat was completely soaked in dark, fresh blood.
I rushed forward and caught her before her head struck a jagged rock.
She gripped my shirt, gasping for air as blood bubbled at the corners of her mouth.
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She whispered that she had been shot by Victoria's men while trying to access the family vault.
Then she looked at Maria and begged her to forgive her for what she was about to confess.
