Chapter 6 - The Storm at the Docks
The rain was blinding as I drove my SUV through the abandoned industrial district. The docks were a graveyard of rusted shipping containers and rotting wood, jutting out into the black, churning river.
I stepped out of the vehicle, the wind tearing at my trench coat. My feet splashed into the puddles, solid and sure. I didn't bring the police; Evelyn had warned me she would jump with Maya if she saw a single flashing light. But I wasn't alone. Liam was hidden in the back of my SUV, armed with a tracking device and a tire iron, refusing to let me go in without backup.
"Evelyn!" I shouted into the gale.
A figure emerged from the shadow of an old warehouse. Evelyn stood near the edge of the pier, holding Maya by the arm. Maya’s face was tear-stained, but she looked at me with fierce, brave eyes.
"Stay back!" Evelyn screamed, dragging Maya closer to the edge. The drop into the freezing, turbulent river was thirty feet.
"I'm here, Evelyn," I said, raising my hands to show I was unarmed. "Let her go. It’s me you want. I’m the one who took your company. I’m the one who took your son."
"You ruined everything!" Evelyn shrieked, her hair plastered to her face. "We were the Vances! We ruled this city! You were just a charity case David married to look respectable! How dare you rise above us! How dare you walk!"
"I walked because I had to save my children from you," I said, taking a slow, calculated step forward. "You think you’re strong, Evelyn? You’re a coward. You hide behind money and lawyers. But tonight, you have nothing."
May you like
Suddenly, Liam slipped out from the shadows behind the warehouse, moving silently toward Evelyn’s blind spot. But Evelyn caught his movement in the reflection of a puddle.
"No!" she screamed, lunging backward, dragging Maya with her toward the edge.
