Chapter 57
i pulled into the parking lot of a cheap, neon-lit motel just off the interstate, paying for the room in cash to avoid being tracked. once inside, i locked the deadbolt and wedged a chair under the handle. the children collapsed onto the scratchy bedspread, exhausted from the adrenaline and fear. i sat at the small rickety desk, staring at the silver flash drive sitting innocently next to the ice bucket. i didn't have a laptop, so the secrets it held were locked away for now. i turned on the small crt television, keeping the volume barely above a whisper. the local news was already broadcasting a breaking story. my heart stopped completely. they were showing a picture of my house surrounded by police tape, but the reporter wasn't talking about a mob hit. they were stating that an armed and dangerous mother had kidnapped her daughter and a foster child, leaving her husband critically wounded. i had been framed.
