Chapter 5 - Caught in the Web
I stood up slowly, stepping directly in front of Harrison, using my body to shield him from the gun.
"It's over, Rachel," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady despite the terror raging inside me. "Or should I call you Rachel Collins?"
Rachel’s eyes narrowed slightly, but her smirk didn't fade. "Ah. You watched the USB drive. Clever girl."
"I didn't just watch it," I lied, taking a small step forward. "I sent copies of the drive, the driver's license, and your real birth certificate to the FBI, the District Attorney, and every major news outlet in Los Angeles. If we don't walk out of here in ten minutes, those files go public."
Rachel chuckled—a light, musical sound that made my skin crawl.
"Nice try, Sarah," she said smoothly, gesturing to Kane. "Check her."
Before I could react, Kane grabbed my arms, pinning them behind my back with terrifying strength, while Rachel reached into my uniform pocket and pulled out my cell phone and earpiece. She threw them onto the concrete floor and stomped them beneath her high heel, shattering them into pieces.
"You didn't send anything to anyone," Rachel sneered, stepping closer until I could smell her expensive perfume. "You came here alone, driven by foolish emotional sentiment. Just like Harrison."
Harrison tried to stand up from the cot, but his weak legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor, clutching my ankle. "Rachel... please," he gasped. "Take the money! Take everything! Just let Sarah go! She has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, Harrison," Rachel sighed, looking down at him with disgust. "You really are pathetic. Do you know how hard it was to pretend to love you for three years? Watching you strut around like you built something, when you were just a greedy, gullible idiot who wanted a rich wife?"
She kicked his hand away from her shoe.
"I built this life," Rachel said, her voice dropping into a raspy, venomous whisper. "I took Victoria Sterling’s pathetic, wasted life and turned it into an empire. I wasn't going to let a washed-up husband ruin it because he got curious and poked around my private safe."
"The real Victoria Sterling died in that fire, didn't she?" I spat, glaring at her. "You murdered her."
"Victoria was an addict who wanted to die anyway," Rachel replied coldly. "I just gave her a little nudge. And now, thanks to your foolish intrusion, my plans have to be accelerated slightly."
She turned to Kane.
"Prepare the boat," Rachel instructed smoothly. "We'll take both of them out to deep water tonight. Harrison will die of an 'accidental drug overdose' on his yacht, and his bitter ex-wife, unable to accept his death, will be found drowned beside him. A tragic, poetic murder-suicide."
"And what about Chloe?" I screamed, thrashing wildly against Kane's iron grip. "What about my daughter?!"
Rachel paused at the door, turning her head to give me a smile that chilled me to the bone.
"Don't worry about the little girl, Sarah," Rachel whispered. "Kane’s men are already on their way to your sister's house. Once we finish here, there won't be a single Miller left to ask questions."
My blood ran cold. She thought Chloe was at my sister's house. Marcus’s misdirection had worked. Chloe was safe in Big Bear!
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"You monster!" I roared.
Kane shoved a thick, chemical-soaked rag over my mouth and nose. A sweet, heavy vapor filled my lungs. The world around me spun wildly, the lights dimming into blackness as Harrison’s screams faded into the dark.
