Before the Bracelet Was Found, the Family Had Already Decided Who to Blame

Claire tore through the door of the Moonlight Motel, gasping for air, her clothes soaked in rain and mud.

Marcus was already on his feet, a heavy metal tire iron gripped in his hand. When he saw it was Claire, he dropped it, rushing forward.

"They found us," Claire choked out, leaning against the doorframe. "Eleanor sent hitmen. Julianne is holding them off at the docks, but they know we're here. We have to go. Now."

Marcus didn't waste a second. He scooped up a sleeping Sophie in one arm and grabbed his laptop with the other. "Let's move."

They piled into Julianne's dark grey sedan, abandoning the compromised rental car. Marcus drove this time, his face a mask of furious concentration as he tore down the empty highway, heading toward the address on the business card Julianne had given Claire.

It was a small, secure server farm in an industrial park on the other side of the county. A safe house for Julianne's digital operations.

As they drove, Claire’s burner phone (which she had retrieved from Julianne) buzzed violently in her pocket. It wasn't a call. It was a statewide emergency alert.

The screen glowed an angry red in the dark car.

AMBER ALERT. SOPHIE HALE. AGE 7. ABDUCTED BY CLAIRE HALE. SUSPECT IS ARMED, DANGEROUS, AND EXPERIENCING A PSYCHOTIC BREAK. DO NOT APPROACH. CALL 911.

Claire stared at the screen in utter horror.

"They framed me," Claire whispered, showing the phone to Marcus. "Eleanor put an Amber Alert out on me. She’s turned the whole state against us. Every cop in a fifty-mile radius is looking for this car."

Marcus swore under his breath, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. "She's trying to corner us. If a cop pulls us over, they won't ask questions. They'll draw their weapons, take Sophie, and lock you in a psych ward before the sun comes up. The ledger will disappear."

"We can't let that happen," Claire said, looking back at Sophie, who was finally waking up, rubbing her eyes in confusion.

"Mommy?" Sophie asked, her voice trembling. "Why are we in a different car? Are the bad men coming?"

Claire reached back and held her daughter's hand. "No, baby. Mommy is going to stop the bad men. Once and for all."

They arrived at the server farm, a nondescript brick building surrounded by a high chain-link fence. Julianne’s keys got them through the gate and inside to a room filled with humming computer banks.

Marcus immediately set up his laptop, connecting it to Julianne’s high-speed, untraceable servers.

"We can't wait for Julianne," Claire said, standing over Marcus's shoulder. "We have to publish it now. Everything. The video of Richard, the audio recording of my mother confessing to planting the bracelet, and the entire ledger."

Marcus’s fingers flew across the keyboard. He bypassed the security protocols, linking the files to Julianne’s massive social media networks and news site.

"Claire, once I hit enter, there is no going back," Marcus warned, looking up at her. "The cartel, the politicians, the Hales... they will all be exposed. But they will also know exactly who pushed the button. You will be painting a target on your back for the rest of your life."

Claire looked at the screen. She thought of David, dying terrified in a plunging car. She thought of Sophie, cowering on the lawn. She thought of her mother’s betrayal.

She reached down and pressed the 'ENTER' key herself.

A progress bar flashed across the screen. Uploading... 50%... 100%. PUBLISHED.

Instantly, the servers hummed louder as millions of notifications were sent out across the globe.

Suddenly, the wail of police sirens pierced the night air, growing louder and closer by the second. The blue and red lights began to flash through the frosted windows of the server room.