Chapter 1 - THE TRAIN'S SECRET CARGOThe solid oak toy train collided with my bandaged head with a sharp, sickening thud, sending a wave of white-hot agony through my fractured skull and bruised ribs.
Gasps rippled through the glittering crowd of senators, philanthropists, and corporate elites gathered in the grand ballroom of the Sterling Foundation gala. Flashbulbs from hidden paparazzi cameras strobed against the polished marble floor.
Victoria Sterling sneered, her eyes flashing with pure malice as she yanked my five-year-old son, Noah, closer to her side.
"Get this trash out of my sight," Victoria hissed to her private bodyguards, adjusting the drape of her shimmering silver gown. "If she bleeds on the carpets, bill her wretched estate."
She turned on her high-heeled heel, pivoting toward the exit with Noah in tow.
She never heard the tiny, nearly silent click that came from the wooden train as it hit the marble floor.
The roof of the handmade caboose had popped open under the force of the impact. Sliding smoothly across the reflective stone, a tiny, high-capacity black micro-SD memory card skittered out of the hidden compartment, rolling away from Victoria’s expensive shoes and straight toward the dark-suited men standing quietly near the service entrance.
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I tracked its movement through a haze of pain, gripping my wheelchair rims tightly.
Keep walking, Victoria, I thought, letting a cold, blood-stained smile touch my lips. You just delivered your own death warrant.
