Chapter 5 - The Digital Purge**
Ethan pulled his sedan into the quiet driveway of his suburban Ohio home, the storm raging outside.
He carried Maya inside, locking the heavy deadbolt before rushing straight to the living room flag frame.
He pulled the framed American flag aside, opening the small back compartment where the micro-SD card was housed.
The slot was empty.
Ethan felt his heart hammer against his ribs as he stared at the hollow plastic bay inside the wall.
He sprinted to his private office, booting up his desktop computer to check the encrypted cloud backup server.
The monitor flashed a stark red error message: *User Credentials Modified. Cloud Storage Formatted at 2:14 PM.*
"She took the physical card and wiped the cloud," Ethan muttered, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the desk edge.
Samantha hadn't just physically abused his child; she had systematically erased every trace of her own cruelty.
May you like
A sudden sharp knock on the front door shattered the silence of the house, followed by the heavy thud of a police baton.
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