Chapter 3 - The Federal Fugitive
I stared at Arthur in absolute, paralyzing shock.
The man who was supposedly in federal custody was crouching behind a dumpster in my alley.
He slowly removed his hand from my mouth, keeping his finger pressed to his own lips.
The two men from the SUV ran past our hiding spot, their heavy footsteps fading down the alleyway.
Arthur quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me toward a battered, unmarked sedan parked two blocks away.
"Get in," he ordered sharply, his previous gentle demeanor completely gone.
I strapped Lily securely into the back seat and climbed into the passenger side.
Arthur hotwired the car with terrifying speed, and we tore out of the neighborhood without turning the headlights on.
"The receptionist said you were arrested," I gasped, clutching the dashboard as we took a sharp corner.
"I was," Arthur confirmed grimly, his eyes locked on the dark road ahead.
"The men who took over my company bribed a federal judge to issue a false warrant for corporate espionage."
"They needed me locked away so I couldn't access the Vanguard mainframe."
He checked the rearview mirror obsessively.
"I managed to escape the transport van, but they are going to label me a dangerous fugitive by morning."
I looked at him, anger finally cutting through my blinding panic.
"Why are they coming after me and my daughter?" I demanded furiously.
"We don't have anything to do with your corporate war!"
Arthur gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned completely white.
"They aren't coming after you for revenge," he explained quietly.
"They are coming after you because of the trust fund I set up for Lily."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, encrypted flash drive.
"Before the hostile takeover, I transferred the master access codes for Vanguard's entire artificial intelligence network into that trust."
"Lily isn't just a millionaire now."
"Legally, your seven-year-old daughter owns the most powerful AI system on the planet."
My mind completely short-circuited.
Arthur had used my daughter's act of kindness as a desperate shield to hide his most valuable asset from his enemies.
He had turned my innocent little girl into the ultimate target for a ruthless corporate syndicate.
"You used us," I whispered, tears of absolute betrayal stinging my eyes.
"I protected the only thing that matters," Arthur defended himself coldly.
"If my board gets those codes, they will weaponize the AI and sell it to the highest military bidder."
"I couldn't let that happen."
He pulled the car into an abandoned, underground parking garage beneath a derelict shopping mall.
"We have to hide here until my loyal security team can extract us," he said, turning the engine off.
I looked back at Lily, who had fallen asleep in the back seat, clutching her small backpack tightly.
I turned back to Arthur, my maternal instinct overriding any lingering fear.
"I don't care about your company, or your AI, or your billions of dollars," I stated firmly.
"If you don't get us out of this right now, I will personally turn that flash drive over to your enemies."
Arthur looked at me, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his hardened features.
Before he could respond, a bright red laser dot appeared directly on the center of his chest.
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A heavily armed tactical team stepped out from the shadows of the concrete pillars.
And leading them was the exact same woman who had been standing next to me at the store when Lily first gave Arthur the lemonade.
