Chapter 49
[Chapter 49: The Extraction]
Before Clara could pull the trigger or Lauren could fire back, a heavy-duty tactical armored van slammed through the perimeter fence of the parking lot, positioning itself squarely between Ethan and the sniper’s line of sight.
The rear doors of the armored van threw open.
Melissa was inside, holding a high-powered flare gun. She fired a blinding white magnesium charge directly toward the fire escape, forcing Clara to drop the rifle to shield her eyes.
“Ethan! Get in! Now!” Melissa screamed.
Ethan didn't hesitate. He jumped into the back of the van, holding Noah tight. Lauren tried to sprint forward to follow them, her eyes desperate, but Ethan looked her dead in the eye and slammed the heavy iron doors shut in her face, locking the deadbolt from the inside.
The van accelerated violently, its heavy tires tearing through the mud as it sped away from the chaotic scene, leaving Lauren and the sniper team behind.
Inside the dark, vibrating interior of the van, Ethan collapsed against the metal wall, holding Noah, whose breathing was ragged and terrified.
“Melissa...” Ethan gasped, looking at his sister, who was sweating, her hands shaking on the steering wheel of the stolen security vehicle. “How did you get out of the medical center?”
“Rebecca Vance’s team helped me,” Melissa said, her voice cracking. “We found out about Edward Cross and Lauren’s P.O. Box. Ethan... we can’t stay in Iowa. The state is going to revoke your standing within hours, and Mom’s lawyers are going to have a federal warrant out for your arrest for taking Noah from CPS custody.”
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“Where are we going?” Ethan asked, rubbing slow circles on Noah’s back to calm him down.
“We’re going dark,” Melissa said, looking at him in the rearview mirror. “The only place they can’t touch us. The old soybean processing plant near the Missouri border. Dad bought it under a shell company thirty years ago. It’s not on any public registry.”
