Chapter 5 - The Escape from the Precinct
*(Title: “A Father With Nothing Left to Lose”)*
For two hours, Daniel sat in an interrogation room at the precinct, handcuffed to a steel eyelet on the table.
Detective Raymond, a man Daniel had known for ten years through youth soccer leagues, walked in with two paper cups of black coffee. He shut the door and didn’t turn on the tape recorder.
“Ray,” Daniel said instantly, his voice hoarse. “Uncuff me.”
Raymond leaned against the two-way mirror, sighing heavily. “Daniel, you made a scene. Henderson’s order is real. Arthur Vance filed the emergency motion at dawn. Why is Arthur Vance gunning for you, man? What the hell did you get into?”
“Arthur Vance murdered Sarah,” Daniel stated, cold and without hesitation.
Raymond froze, coffee cup halfway to his mouth. “What did you say?”
“The hit-and-run two years ago wasn’t an accident. Sarah found out Arthur Vance and Melissa were running a multi-million-dollar money laundering pipeline using fraudulent life insurance policies. They killed her. Now Melissa wants Ethan and Lily so she can access the irrevocable trust Sarah set up before she died. And Evelyn Vance is using CPS to facilitate the abduction.”
Raymond stared at Daniel as if he had grown two heads. “Daniel… you sound insane. Arthur Vance is a pillar of the community—”
“Check my pocket,” Daniel said, leaning forward.
Raymond hesitated, then reached into Daniel’s jacket pocket. He pulled out a tiny silver thumb drive Daniel had slipped out of the firebox and hidden before the police kicked the door in.
“Plug that into your personal laptop, Ray. Not the precinct network. Your personal cellular laptop. File name: *Vance_Laundering_Ledger.pdf*. If you think I’m lying, leave me handcuffed. But if I’m telling the truth… my kids are with a woman who poisons people for money.”
Raymond walked out of the room.
Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes.
Daniel’s heart pounded against his ribs like a sledgehammer. Every second wasted was another second his children were in the hands of a woman who had pulled his four-year-old’s hair until she bled.
The door clicked open.
Detective Raymond walked back in. His face was entirely pale, drained of all color. His hands were visibly shaking.
“The transaction dates…” Raymond breathed in disbelief. “Arthur Vance purchased three properties under shell companies the week after Sarah’s payout cleared. And there’s an insurance binder on your children, Daniel. Filed three days ago. Two million dollars on each child, payable to Melissa in the event of accidental death.”
Daniel’s blood turned to liquid nitrogen. *They weren’t just taking them for guardianship. They were going to stage an accident.*
“Unlock me,” Daniel said.
Raymond didn’t hesitate. He pulled the key from his belt and uncuffed Daniel’s wrists.
“They took them to the Vance private estate in the Pine Barrens,” Raymond whispered, handing Daniel his wallet, car keys, and phone. “The precinct won’t move against Arthur without a federal warrant, and that takes forty-eight hours. By then—”
“By then, my kids are dead,” Daniel said.
May you like
“Take my unmarked cruiser out back,” Raymond said, unlocking the side exit door into the alley. “If anyone asks, you overpowered me and took the keys. Go get your babies, Daniel.”
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