Chapter 5 - The Silent Escape
I grabbed my heavy suitcase and sprinted wildly toward the back service elevator of the luxury high-rise building.
I could already hear the heavy, intimidating boots of the private security team marching aggressively down the main hallway.
I slipped into the metal elevator car just as the handle to my front door began to aggressively jiggle and turn.
The elevator slowly descended into the underground parking garage, every agonizing second feeling like an absolute eternity.
I threw my luggage into the trunk of my car and sped out of the dark garage just as the sun began to rise over Denver.
I parked three blocks away, hiding my car behind a local coffee shop so I could safely watch the chaos unfold.
Exactly on schedule, a massive, obnoxious yellow moving truck aggressively pulled up to the front doors of my luxury building.
My father, Evelyn, Kyle, and Megan proudly stepped out of the truck, looking like they had just won the lottery.
Megan was holding a ridiculous, oversized bottle of cheap champagne, ready to celebrate stealing my hard-earned life.
They confidently marched through the glass revolving doors, completely expecting to find my condo empty and waiting for them.
I sat in the driver's seat of my car, sipping a hot black coffee as my phone began to vibrate violently in my cup holder.
Seventy-nine missed calls lit up my screen in a matter of incredibly chaotic minutes.
I finally decided to listen to the frantic, hysterical voicemails Megan was leaving on my device.
"Claire, where are you, there are terrifying men with guns inside the condo!" Megan screamed into the phone.
"They are telling us we are trespassing on private corporate property and they are threatening to call the police!" my mother yelled in the background.
I smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks, thoroughly enjoying the sweet, beautiful sound of their absolute panic.
My family was currently being detained by the aggressive private security firm hired by the new anonymous owner.
I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat and began the long drive to the international airport to catch my flight to the Maldives.
The automated email containing the massive criminal dossier on Marcus had just successfully deployed to the FBI servers.
By noon, Marcus would be sitting in a federal interrogation room, and my family would be facing trespassing and forgery charges.
I walked confidently through the airport terminal, feeling lighter than I had in my entire adult life.
I handed my first-class ticket to the smiling gate agent, ready to finally board the plane to my absolute freedom.
"I am so sorry, Miss, but your passport has been flagged by the transportation security administration," the agent said politely.
May you like
Before I could even process her confusing words, two men in dark suits stepped out from behind the ticketing counter.
"Claire Evelyn, you are officially under arrest for massive corporate wire fraud," the taller federal agent stated coldly.
