Chapter 3 - The Shadow of the Law
By 6:00 AM the following morning, my corporate laptop was a brick. My access codes were revoked, my company email was locked, and my corporate credit card had been declined when I attempted to extend our hotel stay.
I sat at the small glass desk in the hotel room, staring at a pad of paper where I had written down every name, date, and invoice number Emily could remember.
My phone rang. It was an unlisted number.
"David," a sharp, familiar voice spoke the moment I pressed accept.
It was Marcus Vance, my closest friend and Vanguard's Chief Legal Officer.
"Marcus," I said, keeping my voice low. "I need you to listen to me—"
"Where are you, David?" Marcus interrupted, his tone completely devoid of its usual warmth. "Federal investigators walked into the Chicago headquarters two hours ago. They have sixteen warrants signed by a federal judge in New York. Wire fraud, grand larceny, and corporate embezzlement. The primary beneficiary of the shell account is registered under your social security number."
"It's Jason, Marcus!" I said, my hand gripping the phone so hard the plastic creaked. "He forged my signatures! He abandoned Emily in Nebraska and left her destitute in Denver! I found her last night!"
Silence stretched across the line for five excruciating seconds.
"David..." Marcus sighed, sounding infinitely tired. "Jason's mother, Patricia, filed an emergency custody petition in a Manhattan family court four hours ago. She submitted sworn affidavits stating that Emily suffered severe postpartum psychosis, abandoned the baby at a rest stop, and that you picked her up to hide her from the law. They have photos of you pushing Jason in a pharmacy parking lot."
"They're framing us both!" I shouted.
"It doesn't matter what it looks like to you, David," Marcus said coldly. "To the FBI, it looks like a corrupt executive running away with his unstable daughter and stolen funds. If you don't turn yourself in at the Denver FBI field office by noon, a federal warrant will be issued for your arrest."
"If I turn myself in, who protects my daughter?!" I demanded. "Jason will take Maya! He'll put Emily in an asylum to keep her quiet!"
"Get a lawyer, David," Marcus said, and hung up.
I set the phone on the desk. My chest rose and fell rapidly.
The trap was seamless. If I stayed in Denver, the police would find us. If I flew to New York, I’d be arrested at the airport. Jason had used my own corporate wealth and his mother’s legal maneuvering to turn the entire judicial system into his personal weapon.
I looked over at the bed. Emily was sitting up, hugging her knees, watching me with wide, terrified eyes.
"Dad?" she asked softly. "What do we do?"
May you like
I walked over to the bed, reached down, and picked up my granddaughter. Maya opened her dark blue eyes, looking up at me without fear.
"We don't run," I said, looking at Emily with absolute resolve. "We go on the offensive."
