Chapter 12: The Chase
Chapter 12: The Chase
The engine roared.
Preston gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
His speed climbed past eighty miles an hour.
Rain pounded the windshield.
The city lights blurred into streaks of red and white.
Behind him...
Three police cruisers stayed close.
Their sirens echoed through the empty streets.
A helicopter lifted into the night sky.
Its spotlight swept across the roadway.
There was nowhere to hide.
Inside the lead patrol car...
Officer James Keller kept his eyes locked on Preston's SUV.
"Suspect is heading south."
He spoke calmly into the radio.
"Speed approximately eighty-five."
"Roads are wet."
"Requesting additional units."
The dispatcher answered immediately.
"Units are moving into position."
"Air support has visual."
Preston ignored every red light.
Every stop sign.
Every warning.
His hands shook.
Not from fear.
From desperation.
He wasn't trying to escape prison.
He was trying to reach the storage unit.
If the police found what was inside...
Everything would be over.
At police headquarters...
Detective Morales watched the pursuit unfold on a large monitor.
Every patrol car transmitted live video.
Lauren stood beside him.
She covered her mouth.
"I've never seen him like this."
Morales didn't look away from the screen.
"This isn't panic."
"It's purpose."
He pointed toward the digital map.
"He's not driving randomly."
The GPS route highlighted itself in red.
Lakeview Secure Storage.
"He still thinks he can get there."
Across town...
Richard Carter stared at the monitor.
His face had turned pale.
"He won't stop."
Morales nodded.
"I know."
Richard closed his eyes.
"When Preston was sixteen..."
"He crashed my car trying to outrun campus security."
"He smiled afterward."
"He said..."
Richard's voice broke.
"'No one can catch me.'"
The detective looked at him.
"And did anyone?"
Richard slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Until tonight."
At Mercy General Hospital...
I sat beside Sophie's bed.
The television was muted.
A local news helicopter had already begun covering the pursuit.
I immediately turned the screen away from her.
She didn't need to see any of it.
She deserved one peaceful night.
Officer Reed quietly stepped into the room.
"The chase is still going."
I nodded.
"I figured."
He hesitated.
"I've worked child protection cases for twelve years."
"I've never seen officers move this fast."
I looked at Sophie sleeping peacefully.
"They're not just protecting evidence."
"They're protecting her."
"Yes."
"They are."
Rain continued pouring over Chicago.
Preston turned sharply onto an industrial road.
His tires slipped.
The SUV fishtailed.
He barely regained control.
The helicopter pilot reported every movement.
"Suspect approaching Lakeview Industrial District."
"Ground units closing."
Preston could already see the storage facility.
Only two blocks away.
He smiled for the first time in hours.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
He still had a chance.
Suddenly...
Two police SUVs blocked the intersection ahead.
Preston slammed on the brakes.
Too late.
He jerked the wheel violently.
His SUV jumped the curb.
It smashed through a chain-link fence.
Metal screamed against metal.
The vehicle bounced into an empty warehouse parking lot.
The engine stalled.
Steam poured from beneath the hood.
"Hands!"
Police officers surrounded the SUV within seconds.
"GIVE US YOUR HANDS!"
Spotlights flooded the windshield.
Weapons remained pointed downward but ready.
Preston looked around wildly.
No escape.
No open road.
No second chance.
Instead of surrendering...
He reached toward the passenger seat.
Officer Keller's voice thundered through the loudspeaker.
"Don't do it!"
Preston ignored him.
He grabbed the brown envelope.
Then shoved several papers into his mouth.
"What is he doing?"
One officer shouted.
"Evidence!"
Morales answered through the radio.
"He is trying to destroy evidence."
The driver's door flew open.
Preston stumbled outside.
He tried swallowing the papers.
He choked.
Coughed violently.
Pages scattered across the rain-soaked pavement.
Officers rushed forward.
Within seconds...
He was on the ground.
Handcuffs clicked shut around his wrists.
For the first time in his life...
Preston Carter couldn't talk his way out.
As officers collected the soaked documents...
One detective noticed something unusual.
"They're handwritten."
Morales carefully picked up the first page.
The ink had blurred.
But several words remained readable.
Witness List
Another page.
Media Strategy
Another.
Insurance Claim Draft
Morales frowned.
"Insurance?"
He unfolded another soaked sheet.
This one was easier to read.
The title covered nearly half the page.
Projected Financial Recovery Following Wedding Incident
Lauren stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
The detective continued reading.
Every scenario had estimated dollar amounts.
Lawsuits.
Insurance settlements.
Family inheritance adjustments.
Business sympathy donations.
Public image campaigns.
My name appeared repeatedly.
So did Sophie's.
Morales looked stunned.
"This wasn't only revenge."
Lauren whispered...
"It was business."
At that exact moment...
Officers arrived at Lakeview Secure Storage.
The manager met them at the entrance.
"I've been expecting you."
Morales looked surprised.
"You have?"
The elderly manager nodded.
"About twenty minutes ago..."
"A young woman came here."
He handed over a sealed envelope.
"She told me to give this to the police."
Morales opened it carefully.
Inside...
A storage key.
Unit 417.
And a handwritten note.
"He's too late."
There was no signature.
Only three neatly written initials.
L.S.
Lauren stared at the note.
"L.S.?"
Richard suddenly stood up.
His eyes widened.
"I know who that is."
Everyone turned toward him.
He whispered only two words.
"Lillian Saunders."
Morales frowned.
"Who's Lillian Saunders?"
Richard took a slow, shaky breath.
"The only person..."
"...who ever knew every secret my wife and son buried."
The detective's pulse quickened.
"Where is she now?"
Richard looked toward the rain-covered windows.
"I thought she died twenty-five years ago."
Just then...
Officer Keller's radio crackled.
"Detective."
"We've opened Storage Unit 417."
A long pause followed.
Then the officer spoke again.
His voice was filled with disbelief.
"You need to get here."
May you like
"There's enough evidence in this unit..."
"...to solve crimes going back thirty years."
