Chapter 8 - The Pier in the Storm
A shot shattered the night. The bullet punched through Sarah’s driver-side mirror, showering the door with shards of glass.
Sarah ducked low across the passenger seat, throwing the gear into reverse. She floored the accelerator. The Range Rover roared backward into the gloom, slamming through the rusted wooden gates of the lake property and crashing into a thicket of pine trees.
The airbag deployed with a deafening bang, filling the cabin with white powder and the sharp smell of smoke.
Coughing and disoriented, Sarah fought her way out of the wreckage through the passenger door. Rain immediately soaked her hair and clothes, plastering her uniform to her shivering skin.
Down the path toward the water, she heard Julian’s piercing scream cut through the roaring wind.
""Let go of me! Sarah! Daddy!""
Sarah scrambled down the muddy embankment, slipping and sliding toward the private boathouse. The lake was a churning mass of black waves, rising up against the long wooden dock that stretched fifty feet out into the deep water.
At the end of the dock, illuminated by the floodlights of a tied-up cabin cruiser, Eleanor stood clutching Julian by the collar of his jacket. The boy was fighting wildly, kicking at her shins.
""Shut up, you miserable brat!"" Eleanor shrieked over the wind, her soaked gown clinging to her like a golden serpent's skin. ""Your mother died out here, and nobody asked questions! They'll just think you ran off into the storm in your grief!""
""Eleanor!"" Sarah screamed, sprinting onto the slick wooden planks of the dock.
Eleanor whipped around, her eyes wild with madness. ""You! You just won't die, will you?""
""The police are ten minutes away!"" Sarah yelled, stepping forward with her hands held out, trying to draw the woman’s attention away from the child. ""The call went out. They know Arthur was poisoned! They know you altered Clara’s will! There is no escape for you!""
Eleanor laughed—a high, hysterical sound that was snatched away by the gale. ""They know nothing without that drive! Marcus will handle the police. Arthur will die of an 'accidental' overdose of his heart medication tonight, and by morning, I’ll be on a plane to Zurich with everything!""
""I have the drive, Eleanor,"" Sarah said, pulling the small silver object from her pocket and holding it up beneath the glaring halogen lights. ""The police already have the cloud logs. It’s over.""
Eleanor’s eyes locked onto the drive, a flicker of pure terror crossing her face.
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Behind Sarah, heavy footsteps pounded onto the wooden dock. Marcus Thorne emerged from the darkness, his face bloodied from the crash, the pistol held steady in his hand.
""Drop the drive, Sarah,"" Marcus commanded quietly, cocking the hammer. ""Or the boy goes into the water right now.""
