I backed up slowly down the aisle of brass boxes, clutching the heavy brown envelope to my chest. My eyes frantically scanned the lobby. To my left, a solid wooden door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY. To my right, a heavy red fire extinguisher mounted on the wall.
"You're not getting this, Cole," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous gravel. "I know what it is. I know what you did to her."
Cole’s smirk vanished, replaced by a flash of genuine, volatile anger. "Emily was stupid, Arthur. Just like you. She couldn't leave well enough alone. She had a good life. She had money, security. But she started sticking her nose in my ledgers. Now, hand over the envelope before I have my men tear this place apart and beat you to death on the floor."
He took a step forward, drawing a heavy, black combat knife from his belt.
I didn't wait for him to close the distance.
I lunged to my right, grabbing the heavy red fire extinguisher from the wall mount. I ripped the pin out with my teeth and squeezed the handle, pointing the nozzle directly at Cole’s face.
A massive, blinding cloud of thick white chemical foam erupted from the canister, blasting Cole directly in the eyes.
Cole screamed, dropping the knife and stumbling backward into the brass boxes as the thick dust coated his face and filled his lungs. His men rushed the door, shouting in confusion as the lobby filled with an impenetrable white cloud.
Using the chaos, I swung the heavy steel bottom of the extinguisher directly into the small, frosted side-window of the lobby. The glass shattered outward into the alley.
I threw the extinguisher at the closest henchman emerging through the smoke, vaulted up onto the windowsill, and scrambled through the jagged opening, tearing my jeans on the glass.
I hit the wet gravel of the side alley, clutching the envelope tightly, and sprinted across the street toward my truck.
"Lily!" I shouted, yanking the driver's side door open. "Get down!"
I threw the truck into drive, stomped the gas, and the heavy tires squealed on the wet pavement. In the rearview mirror, I saw Cole's men bursting out of the shattered window and the front door, running toward their black SUVs parked down the block.
I tore out of the rural town, hitting the backwoods dirt roads at a reckless seventy miles an hour, my truck violently fishtailing through the mud and gravel.
We drove for forty minutes deep into the county woods, taking a maze of logging roads until we reached an old, abandoned, dilapidated sawmill hidden entirely by towering pine trees. I drove the truck straight into one of the open, rusted storage bays and killed the engine.
The silence that followed was deafening. The only sound was the pinging of the overheated engine and Lily’s frightened breathing.
I slumped back against the seat, wiping a heavy bead of sweat from my forehead. We were safe, for the moment. The canopy was too thick for drones, and the roads were too unmarked to follow directly.
I looked down at the heavy padded envelope in my lap.
I needed to know exactly what I was carrying.
With trembling hands, I tore the thick paper open.
Inside was a black, leather-bound ledger book. Taped to the front of it was a small, silver USB flash drive. And beneath that, folded neatly in half, was a piece of lined notebook paper.
I opened the paper. It was a letter.
Dad,
I stared at the word, the familiar handwriting making my throat completely close up.
If you are reading this, it means I didn’t make it out. It means Cole caught me.
I know I hurt you. I know I said terrible things before I left. I spent years regretting it, Dad. But you need to know the truth. I didn't stay away all these years because I hated you. I stayed away because I was trying to protect you.
Four years ago, I found out what Cole really does. He’s a logistics manager for a massive cartel. He uses his legitimate trucking routes to smuggle women and girls across the border. When I threatened to go to the police, he didn’t threaten me. He threatened you. He showed me pictures of you at the garage. He told me that if I ever tried to run, or if I ever spoke to you again, his men would burn your garage to the ground with you inside it.
I couldn’t let him hurt you, Dad. So I stayed. I pretended to be a good wife. And I started taking notes. I copied his ledgers. I stole the shipping routes, the names, the drop points on this flash drive. I was building a case.
Two weeks ago, Cole found my hidden copies. He knows I have the master ledger. He’s going to kill me, Dad. I’m sending Lily to you with the key to this box. Please, keep her safe. Give this book to the FBI in the city. Do not trust the local police.
I never stopped loving you, Dad. Please forgive me.
Emily.