Chapter 7 - The Crash
Clara twisted her body backward, throwing her entire upper torso over Ethan to shield him from the impending impact.
Arthur yanked the emergency brake lever with all of his remaining strength, desperately trying to bleed off their speed.
The rear tires locked up violently, sending the sports car spinning wildly out of control across the wet pavement.
The world outside the windows became a terrifying blur of spinning headlights, dark trees, and pouring rain.
The car careened off the main road, tearing through a thick row of heavy wooden fencing.
They plunged down a steep, muddy embankment, violently bouncing over hidden rocks and deep trenches.
The vehicle finally slammed into a massive, ancient oak tree with a deafening, metallic crunch.
The airbags deployed instantly with a loud blast of white smoke, filling the cabin with a strange, chemical smell.
Complete and utter silence quickly settled over the wrecked car, broken only by the sound of hissing steam.
Clara groaned in agony, slowly blinking her eyes open through the blinding pain in her forehead.
She immediately turned around and frantically checked the back seat for the little boy.
Ethan was crying softly, clearly terrified, but miraculously completely uninjured thanks to the heavy seatbelt.
Arthur kicked his crushed door open, stumbling out into the mud with a noticeable limp.
He rushed around to the passenger side and helped Clara and Ethan carefully climb out of the smoking wreckage.
“We have to keep moving before that car catches on fire,” Arthur urged, guiding them up the slippery hill.
They clawed their way through the freezing mud, finally reaching the edge of the paved road.
Looking down into the vast valley below, they spotted the glowing red taillights of Vanessa’s SUV.
The vehicle was parked outside the chain-link fence of a remote, privately owned airfield.
“She is trying to leave the country on my private corporate jet,” Arthur realized with a heavy sinking feeling.
They sprinted through the dark, dense woods, ignoring the burning pain in their lungs and the freezing rain.
As they finally reached the edge of the tarmac, the loud whine of a jet engine began to spool up.
Vanessa was dragging a large, heavy duffel bag up the rolling metal stairs toward the open cabin door.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding a tactical rifle and guarding her escape, was a man in a police uniform.
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Clara squinted through the rain and recognized the man as the highly respected Chief of Police for the entire city.
The corruption ran much deeper than just the mansion’s security team; Vanessa had bought the highest law enforcement officer in the state.
