Chapter 7 - THE TERROR ON THE MOUNTAIN"Hang on!" Katherine suddenly screamed.
Before Frank could raise his pistol, Katherine grabbed the SUV’s emergency brake lever between the front seats and pulled it up with all her remaining strength.
The tires locked instantly. The heavy SUV skidded sideways across the wet asphalt, spinning out of control at sixty miles per hour.
Frank yelled, dropping his gun as he struggled to keep the vehicle on the road. The SUV smashed through the thin wooden guardrail, plunging off the side of the mountain embankment and crashing violently into the dense trees below.
CRASH!
Metal twisted, glass shattered, and airbags deployed with deafening pops. The SUV rolled twice down the steep, muddy hill before slamming headfirst into a massive pine tree, finally grinding to a halt upside down.
Silence filled the woods, broken only by the sound of rain tapping against the wrecked metal and the hiss of steam leaking from the crushed radiator.
I coughed, my chest burning from the impact of the airbag. Blood was dripping down my face from a cut on my forehead. I unbuckled my seatbelt and collapsed onto the overturned roof of the car.
"Caleb... Katherine..." I groaned, crawling toward the shattered back window.
"We're... we're here, Mom," Caleb’s voice came weakly from the dark. He was hanging upside down, covered in cuts, but Katherine was already unbuckling him, holding his head so he wouldn't crash onto the roof.
In the front seat, Frank was unconscious, his head slumped over the steering wheel, blood pouring from a gash on his temple.
"Get out! We have to get out before it catches fire!" Katherine yelled, kicking out the broken rear windshield.
Together, Katherine and I dragged Caleb out of the burning wreckage onto the muddy hillside. Rain poured down on us, washing away the blood on our faces. We pulled Caleb up the slippery slope, hiding behind a dense cluster of rocks just as a loud explosion rocked the ravine.
The SUV erupted into a roaring ball of orange flames.
We lay in the mud, panting, watching the fire consume the car. Frank was still inside.
Caleb buried his face in Katherine’s lap, his body wracked with deep, painful sobs. "It's all my fault... my whole life was built on lies... my whole family..."
"Shh... no, Caleb," Katherine whispered, pulling him close, uncaring of the mud and blood covering them both. "It's not your fault. But we have to finish this. We have the key. We have the flash drive."
I reached into my pocket. By some miracle, the small silver key was still there. I held it up in the moonlight, its metallic surface glinting through the dark rain.
"How do we get to Switzerland?" I asked, looking at Katherine. "Arthur Pendelton has airports watched. We’re fugitives now."
Katherine wiped the rainwater from her eyes, a sharp, deadly smile appearing on her lips.
"We don't go to Switzerland, Mary," Katherine said.
I blinked in confusion. "What? You said Beatrice is in Geneva!"
"I lied," Katherine revealed softly. "I knew Frank was listening to us in the house. I knew whoever the mole was would try to intercept us if they thought Beatrice was in Switzerland. Beatrice isn't in Geneva."
Caleb gasped, looking up at his wife. "Where is she, Katherine?"
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Katherine looked toward the top of the mountain, where the dim lights of Oakhaven Springs glowed in the distance.
"She’s been right here in town the whole time," Katherine whispered. "Locked inside Arthur Pendelton’s private estate on Lake Oakhaven. And tonight... we are breaking her out."
