Chapter 9 - The Reckoning
Evan let out a agonized shriek as his nose broke with a loud crunch. Blood burst from his face, blinding him as he stumbled backward out of the open SUV door, falling flat on his back into the deep, churning mud of the roadside ditch.
Emily didn't hesitate. She scrambled out of the vehicle, snatching the heavy flashlight from the center console.
Evan coughed, clutching his bleeding face, trying to scramble out of the mud. "You crazy bitch!" he screamed, reaching for her ankle.
Emily swung the heavy metal flashlight down with all her force, striking his reaching arm.
CRACK.
Evan howled in pain, pulling his injured arm against his chest, completely immobilized in the freezing mud.
At that exact moment, the blinding white beams of four high-powered searchlights cut through the rain. The roaring thunder of heavy engines echoed down the road as three black security SUVs and two marked state police cruisers swept around the bend, skidding to a halt in a defensive circle around the scene.
I slammed open the door of the lead SUV, rushing out into the pouring rain without an umbrella, followed by six armed state troopers and Special Agent Vance from the state investigative unit.
"Emily!" I screamed, my heart stopping as I saw the shattered vehicle.
"Mom! I'm here!" Emily called out, standing tall beside the SUV, holding the flashlight, her suit damp with rain, but completely uninjured.
State troopers immediately swarmed the ditch with drawn weapons. "Don't move! Keep your hands where we can see them!"
Evan lay in the mud, sobbing hysterically, covered in blood and filth, holding his broken nose and bruised arm. "Help me! She attacked me! She's crazy!"
Special Agent Vance stepped down into the ditch, grabbing Evan by his collar and hoisting him up to his knees. Steel handcuffs clicked sharply around his wrists.
"Evan Vance," Agent Vance announced loudly above the roaring rain. "You are under arrest for attempted kidnapping, felony assault, corporate fraud, and violation of a federal protection order."
A second team of troopers escorted Marcus, who was receiving treatment for the pepper spray, back to a medical vehicle.
I ran to Emily, wrapping my arms around her with a force that shook my entire body. "My baby... oh god, my baby... are you alright?!"
Emily wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight. She wasn't crying. She wasn't trembling. She looked over my shoulder at Evan, who was being dragged up the muddy bank by two troopers, looking like a drowned, pathetic rat.
"I'm fine, Mom," Emily said softly, her voice filled with an absolute, triumphant peace. "It's over."
Ten minutes later, state troopers arrived at the Sunline Motel.
Gloria Vance was sitting on her bed, drinking her cheap coffee, when the door was kicked off its hinges. Troopers poured into the room, securing her in handcuffs as an accomplice to felony extortion and corporate fraud.
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"Get your hands off me!" Gloria shrieked, her voice echoing down the dingy motel corridor as she was dragged out into the rain. "I am Gloria Vance! I have rights!"
"You have the right to remain silent, Mrs. Vance," the arresting officer replied coldly, shoving her into the back of a police cruiser. "I suggest you use it."
