Chapter 9 - The Ledger Found
I pressed my knee heavily into Vanessa's back, holding her face down against the floorboards.
Marcus grabbed her zip-tie restraints from her own pocket and quickly bound her wrists behind her.
"Where is the real ledger, Vanessa?" I screamed, yanking her hair back.
She spat blood onto the floor and smiled up at me in the dim moonlight.
"You will never find it, and Emily will be empty by tomorrow night," she taunted.
I let go of her hair in disgust and began tearing the office apart.
I ripped books off the shelves, smashed picture frames, and overturned the heavy desk.
Nothing made sense until I noticed a small, blinking red light under the floorboard beneath the desk chair.
I used the bronze bookend to pry the wooden plank up, revealing a hidden electronic compartment.
Inside rested a thick black hard drive and a physical notebook bound in red leather.
I flipped open the notebook and saw pages filled with names, dates, and massive dollar amounts.
"I have it," I whispered, showing the book to Marcus.
"We have to get to the state police headquarters right now, bypassing the city entirely," he urged.
We left Vanessa tied up on the floor and ran out the front door into the cold night.
We drove for two hours straight, crossing the county lines to ensure Daniel's corrupt cops could not intercept us.
We finally pulled up to the massive, fortified building of the State Bureau of Investigation.
I clutched the red notebook to my chest, feeling a surge of overwhelming relief.
We walked into the brightly lit lobby and demanded to speak to the lead investigator on duty.
A tall, authoritative man with a silver badge walked out to meet us.
He took the notebook, listened to my frantic story, and immediately dispatched a heavily armed strike team to the hospital.
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Within an hour, I watched a live feed on the investigator's computer as Daniel was slammed against a wall and handcuffed.
My daughter was finally safe, completely surrounded by state troopers.
