Chapter 5 - The Hostage—The Mother-in-Law—The Pension Fund

“Where is she, Eleanor?” I demanded, gripping the edge of the blood-stained kitchen counter.

“She’s resting comfortably in the trunk of my car,” Eleanor said coldly. “Marcus told me what happened in the study. Your father stole my money, and he used you to do it.”

“Marcus is working with him!” I yelled.

“Marcus is a greedy idiot,” Eleanor snapped. “He thinks your father is actually going to share that money with him? Thomas Vance cares about no one but himself. He’s going to take that crypto wallet and vanish, leaving us all holding the bag when the union boss comes looking for his pension funds.”

The reality of the situation crashed over me. Eleanor didn't orchestrate this with my father. My father had played them both.

“I don't have the money, Eleanor. Dad took the drive.”

“I know you don't have the drive, Julianne. But Marcus said you hacked the terminal. You mirrored the routing numbers. I want the exact crypto wallet address your father used, so my tech team can track him before he leaves the state.”

“And if I refuse?”

Eleanor laughed, a dry, terrifying sound.

“The man who owns that pension fund is Frank Moretti. He runs the local loan sharking and union rackets. He is not a forgiving man. If I don't give Frank his money back by tomorrow morning, he’s going to kill my son. So, give me the routing address, Julianne, or I put a bullet in your mother’s head right now.”

I looked at the blood on the floor. I had to pit them against each other.

“Meet me at the abandoned shipping warehouse on Pier 4 in one hour,” I said, my voice hardening. “Bring my mother. I’ll bring the routing address.”

“Don't try anything clever, suburban girl,” Eleanor warned, hanging up.

I bolted out the back door, heading for Marcus’s condo downtown. I needed leverage. But as I cut through an alleyway, a heavy pair of hands grabbed me from behind, slamming me brutally against the brick wall.

It was Marcus. And he was holding a tire iron.

The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.

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