Chapter 8 - THE FALL
The gunshot cracked like thunder over the tarmac.
Elara flinched, bracing for the impact, but a heavy weight slammed into her from the side. Dominic tackled her to the wet asphalt just as the bullet shattered the window of the SUV behind them.
"Get to the plane!" Dominic roared, rolling to his feet and charging Jax before the CFO could adjust his aim. Dominic’s fist connected with Jax’s jaw with a sickening crunch, sending the gun skittering across the slick tarmac. The two armed guards hesitated, suddenly unsure who was paying them now that the accounts were locked.
Elara didn't wait. She scrambled up the metal stairs of the Gulfstream, her wet shoes slipping. She burst into the lavish cabin.
"Leo! Maya!" she screamed.
"Mommy!"
Leo was huddled in the corner of a leather seat, clutching Maya's hand tightly. Maya looked terrified but resolute, holding her blue origami crane like a shield. Elara rushed forward, sweeping them both into a desperate, crushing embrace. "I've got you. I've got you."
Outside, the fight was brutal. Jax, desperate and unhinged, slashed at Dominic with a hidden pocketknife, catching Dominic along the forearm. Blood mingled with the rain. But Dominic, fueled by years of betrayal and a fierce protective rage, grabbed Jax by the lapels and slammed him brutally against the landing gear.
Sirens wailed in the distance. Kenji Sato, true to his word, had called the federal authorities the moment he secured his own immunity deal. Flashing red and blue lights pierced the dark airfield as FBI tactical vehicles swarmed the hangar.
Agents swarmed the tarmac, pulling Dominic off a bloodied, gasping Jax.
Elara hurried down the stairs, clutching a child to each side. Dominic rushed to them, ignoring the bleeding cut on his arm, and wrapped all three of them in his arms. Maya buried her face in her father's chest, sobbing in relief.
"It's over," Dominic whispered into Elara's wet hair. "We have him."
An FBI agent approached, holding Jax up by his handcuffs. Jax was spitting blood, his eyes wild with malice.
"You think you won?" Jax laughed, a harsh, grating sound. He looked at the lead agent. "Check the tablet in my pocket! I just initiated a remote wipe of the entire Apex server. The shadow ledger, the toxicology report, the Vanguard proof—it's all gone! It's his word against mine, and he's the son of the corrupt CEO!"
Elara's heart sank. If Jax had wiped the server, they had no physical proof of his crimes. He could tie them up in litigation for decades.
Dominic looked at Elara, panic finally breaking through his composed exterior.
"He's lying, right?" Dominic asked her. "You backed it up?"
Elara shook her head, tears of frustration mingling with the rain. "I didn't have time. If he triggered a hard wipe on the master server... it's gone."
Jax threw his head back and cackled as the agents dragged him toward a cruiser. "Checkmate, Dominic!"
A small hand tugged on Elara's wet sleeve.
She looked down. Maya was holding up her pink, child-proof drawing tablet.
"He's wrong," Maya said quietly, her eight-year-old voice steady and calm. "When you and Daddy left us with the security guards, the thunder was loud again. So I put my headphones on and wanted to color."
Maya tapped the screen. The drawing app closed, revealing a hidden file directory.
May you like
"Daddy always told me to back up my drawings," Maya said, looking up at Dominic with wide, innocent eyes. "I copied all the files with the anchor password onto my tablet before the bad men took us. Did I do okay, Daddy?"
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