flash
Victoria slammed the heavy oak front door so hard the glass pane rattled, its echo bouncing off the sterile, minimalist walls of the foyer. Her chest heaved with a volatile mixture of humiliation and blinding rage. / Chapter 7 / 25

Chapter 7 - The Amber AlertBy noon, the news broke across every major television network and social media platform in the state.

“BREAKING NEWS: Authorities have issued an urgent Amber Alert for two missing children, Maya and Leo Vance, allegedly abducted by their estranged guardian, Arthur Vance. Police consider the suspect dangerous and unstable. Officials urge anyone with information regarding his whereabouts to contact law enforcement immediately.”

In the rustic hunting cabin, the television screen blared the horrifying headline. Arthur stood frozen, staring at his own face plastered across the news scroll alongside fabricated mugshots and sensationalized headlines branding him a fugitive.

"Uncle Arthur... are the police going to arrest us?" Leo whispered, his eyes wide with terror as he clung to the edge of the sofa.

"No, buddy. Never," Arthur said firmly, kneeling down to look him in the eye. "That's just television magic. Rich people magic. They're trying to scare us because they know we have the truth."

Maya pointed tremblingly at the screen. "Look... that's the woman who came to our house before. The one who works for the bad men."

Arthur looked up at the screen. A press conference had just gone live outside the Sterling Enterprises headquarters. There stood Victoria, dressed in mourning black, dabbing fake tears from her eyes with a lace handkerchief as flashbulbs popped around her like a swarm of angry fireflies.

"Please... if anyone knows where my husband has taken my beloved children, please bring them home safely," Victoria sobbed into the microphone, delivering an Oscar-worthy performance of a heartbroken wife. "Arthur is suffering a severe mental health crisis. He's not safe for them to be around."

Arthur let out a cold, humorless laugh. She was doubling down. She wanted total annihilation.

Suddenly, his satellite phone buzzed violently. It was Marcus.

"Arthur, you seeing this shit?" Marcus yelled over the phone. "The Sterlings just pulled every string in the state police department. They've got patrol cars sweeping every major highway heading north. You need to move, now!"

"Is the data package ready?" Arthur asked, his voice dead calm.

"Ready? It's locked and loaded," Marcus replied with a grin. "We didn't just hack the Sterling database; we've set up a decentralized mirror broadcast. At exactly 3:00 PM, every news station, corporate billboard, and social media trending page in the country is going to stream the Janus files simultaneously. They won't be able to censor it."

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"Fifteen minutes," Arthur said. "Let's give them a show they'll never forget."

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