Chapter 12 - The Escape
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Daniel moved faster than I thought a corporate lawyer could.
He shoved the closest guard hard against the stone fireplace, breaking the man’s grip before it could secure on my arm.
“Do not touch my client!” Daniel roared, his voice booming across the stunned, silent ballroom. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, holding it high in the air. “I have already forwarded the encrypted environmental reports to the regional director of the EPA and the District Attorney’s office! If anyone lays a hand on Evelyn, this entire estate will be swarming with federal agents in ten minutes!”
Thomas froze. The calculated gamble in Daniel’s bluff hung in the air.
“You’re bluffing,” Matthias sneered, though sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead.
“Try me, Matthias,” Daniel challenged, his eyes burning with fierce determination. He grabbed my elbow, pulling me firmly behind him. “Mara, stay close.”
The crowd of wealthy elites, sensing the imminent arrival of law enforcement, suddenly began to murmur and shift. No one in that room wanted to be caught in the blast radius of a federal environmental scandal. The human wall of high society began to part, clearing a path toward the grand double doors.
“Let them go,” Thomas ordered his guards, his face twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated hatred. He looked at me, his voice a venomous hiss. “You are making a mistake that will cost you everything, Evelyn.”
“I’ve already lost everything,” I said, looking back at the man I had called my husband. “But I’m keeping my soul.”
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We didn't run. We walked with deliberate, dignified purpose out of the ballroom, leaving the glittering $18,600 necklace abandoned on the marble floor.
The winter air hit my face like a physical blow as we stepped out onto the grand portico. My legs were shaking so violently I almost collapsed, but Daniel held me upright, guiding me swiftly toward his idling car.
