Chapter 9 - The Rescue Operation
Back in Raleigh,
my phone buzzed violently with an incoming video call on an encrypted messaging app.
I picked it up immediately,
expecting an update from Clara.
Instead,
the screen flickered to life,
showing a dark,
blurry ceiling and muffled sounds of a struggle.
“Let me go! Dad,
stop!” Chloe’s terrified voice screamed through the speaker before a hand clamped roughly over her mouth.
My blood ran ice cold.
“Chloe!” I shouted into the phone,
staring at the screen in absolute horror.
The camera angle shifted,
and Arthur Vance’s cold,
menacing face filled the frame,
illuminated by the cold glow of the phone screen.
“Well,
well,
if it isn't our clever little runaway,
” Arthur mocked,
his voice dripping with venom.
“It seems your little accomplice here decided to follow in your footsteps.
Too bad she lacks your survival instincts.
”
“Arthur,
if you touch her,
I swear to God I will release every file and recording to the FBI within thirty seconds,
” I threatened,
my voice trembling with adrenaline.
Arthur chuckled,
a dark,
chilling sound that echoed in the small motel room.
“Go ahead,
my dear,
” he replied smoothly.
“By the time federal agents figure out which jurisdiction to file in,
your precious sister-in-law will have had a terribly tragic slip and fall down our grand staircase.
Accidents happen all the time in large houses.
”
“Don't do it,
Arthur,
” I said,
stalling for time while frantically signaling Clara,
who was standing beside me in the motel room,
to dial 911 on her phone.
“What do you want?”
“I want you back in Arlington within four hours,
” Arthur demanded,
his eyes narrowing into slits.
“You will bring every digital copy of that audio recording,
every cloud backup link,
and every note you’ve made.
You will hand them directly to me,
and you will sign a comprehensive non-disclosure and relinquishment agreement.
If you are even one minute late,
Chloe pays the price.
”
The video feed abruptly went black as the connection was terminated from their end.
I stared at my blank phone screen,
my chest heaving as panic threatened to paralyze my mind.
“Did you get the location tracing from the ping?” I asked Clara,
turning to her with desperate eyes.
Clara nodded rapidly,
holding up her laptop screen,
which displayed a live GPS tracker pinging from the Arlington estate.
“The 911 dispatcher has already dispatched state troopers and county sheriff deputies to the perimeter,
” Clara said firmly,
grabbing her car keys from the table.
“We’re not walking into their trap alone,
Rebecca.
We’re going in with federal backing.
”
We raced out of the motel,
jumping back into my sedan and tearing out of the parking lot with tires screeching against the asphalt.
The drive back to Arlington felt like an eternity,
every second ticking away like a bomb countdown.
By the time we pulled off the highway near the Vance estate,
two unmarked police cruisers and a state trooper SUV were waiting for us at the designated rendezvous point down the road.
A tall,
broad-shouldered detective in a dark trench coat stepped out of the lead cruiser,
holding a folder under his arm.
“Mrs.
Vance?” the detective asked as I rolled down my window.
“I’m Detective Miller,
State Bureau of Investigation.
Your journalist friend in New York forwarded us the audio files and the historical records half an hour ago.
We have a warrant for Arthur Vance’s arrest on charges of drugging,
assault,
and systemic extortion.
”
“He has Chloe inside,
” I said urgently,
pointing toward the iron gates of the estate visible through the trees.
“He’s holding her hostage.
”
Detective Miller’s expression hardened instantly into professional steel.
May you like
“Then we execute the raid right now.
”
