Chapter 4
Julian hadn’t killed Elena—at least not yet. He had used Maya’s safety as leverage to keep Elena compliant, beating her and locking her away while he systematically looted her accounts.
Before Maya could finish, Detective Vance’s radio crackled sharply to life in the hallway. She stepped outside, spoke hurriedly into her lapel mic, and then snapped her head back toward me.
“Mr. Vance,” Detective Vance said, her eyes burning with urgency. “Traffic cameras just picked up Julian’s Explorer at a gas station near the interstate highway, twelve miles north. Highway Patrol is moving in, but we have reason to believe Elena is alive in the back of that vehicle.”
I didn’t hesitate. I ensured a police guard remained stationed outside Maya’s hospital room with the social worker, kissed my daughter’s forehead, and walked out the door right behind Detective Vance.
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“You can’t come on a tactical pursuit, Mr. Vance,” Detective Vance warned as we hurried down the hospital corridor.
“I’m not sitting in a waiting room while the man who tortured my daughter holds my ex-wife at gunpoint,” I replied, my voice stone-cold. “I’ll follow behind your cruiser. You won’t stop me.”
