Chapter 12 - THE FALSE RESCUE
Nathan killed the laptop screen.
We went silent.
A man outside whispered, "Mr. Cole? County sheriff. We're here to get you out."
Mrs. Alvarez started toward the door.
Sophia grabbed her skirt.
NO.
I crouched beside my daughter.
WHY?
She pointed at the floor.
No flashing blue light beneath the door. No radio vibration. No heavy boots shifting outside.
And then I noticed something else.
The "sheriff" had said Mr. Cole.
Not Nathan.
Real deputies had been to the house before. They knew him.
Nathan mouthed, "Back window."
The man outside knocked again.
"Sir, we have your fiancée in custody."
Nathan's expression didn't change.
"Open the door."
Nobody moved.
The lock exploded inward.
We ran.
Nathan shoved the window up. A sloped copper roof stretched below us, slick with rain.
"Ladies first," he said.
I glared at him.
"Bad time for manners."
The bedroom door burst open.
Two armed men entered wearing jackets marked SHERIFF.
Wrong patches.
Nathan threw a lamp. Glass shattered. I pushed Sophia through the window into Mrs. Alvarez's arms.
A bullet punched into the wall beside my head.
We crawled across the roof.
Rain blinded me.
Sophia moved low and fast, following the vibration of my steps.
Behind us, a man climbed through the window.
Nathan kicked the copper gutter loose.
The man slipped and vanished over the edge with a scream.
We reached the old guest balcony and climbed inside.
Nathan locked the doors.
My hands were shaking.
Sophia touched my cheek.
MOM SCARED.
I nodded.
YES.
She pressed her forehead to mine.
ME TOO.
For one second, everything stopped.
Then Nathan's phone buzzed.
A text from his company's board chair.
EMERGENCY VOTE CALLED FOR 9:00 A.M. TOMORROW. VANESSA HAS YOUR PROXY. MERGER WILL PASS.
It was 11:42 p.m.
We had less than ten hours to prove Nathan wasn't incompetent, expose a criminal conspiracy, and stop the transfer of a billion-dollar patent portfolio.
Then another message arrived.
May you like
From Vanessa.
COME TO THE CHAPEL. I HAVE ELLIOT.
