Chapter 20 - Counter-Intelligence
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The back door was kicked open as six armed police officers flooded the kitchen, guns raised.
"Police! Drop the weapon! Hands in the air!" the lead officer bellowed.
Evelyn’s hired accomplice dropped the crowbar instantly, falling to his knees with his hands behind his head. Evelyn stood frozen in the center of the room, surrounded by flashing blue lights, staring at the officers in absolute disbelief.
"Officers! You don't understand!" Evelyn stammered, raising her hands trembling into the air. "I am Evelyn Sterling! This is my daughter’s home! I was just coming to check on my grandchild—"
"Save it, lady," the officer snapped, pulling her arms behind her back and snapping heavy steel handcuffs around her wrists. "We received a panicked call from your accomplice inside, plus we have live video feeds from the security company showing forced entry."
"Sarah!" Evelyn screamed as they dragged her toward the shattered glass door. "Sarah, tell them to stop! I'm your mother! You can't do this to me!"
I walked up to her, looking down into the eyes of the woman who had terrorized my childhood, who had enabled my father's violence, and who had tried to steal my daughter.
"You stopped being my mother the night you told me to stop faking it while I lay bleeding on granite," I said, my voice steady and free of anger. "Enjoy federal prison, Evelyn."
By sunrise, both Evelyn and Hannah were booked into the county jail on charges of felony burglary, attempted kidnapping, and conspiracy.
Meanwhile, at Sterling Tower, federal agents executed a simultaneous raid on my father's offshore accounts, intercepting the fourteen-million-dollar wire transfer before a single cent could leave the country.
I sat in our living room as the morning sun broke through the clouds, holding Grace close against my chest. Mark wrapped a warm blanket around my shoulders, sitting beside us.
"It’s really over, isn't it?" Mark asked softly, kissing the top of my head.
"The threat from my parents is over," I nodded, watching Grace breathe peacefully. "They are going to prison for a very long time."
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"Then why do you look like you're still waiting for the other shoe to drop?"
I looked down at my phone resting on the coffee table. A strange, encrypted email had arrived in my inbox just ten minutes ago from an unknown address.
