Chapter 22 - The Impact and the Underground
Daniel didn't think; his body reacted on pure instinct. As the truck hurtled toward him, engine screaming at full throttle, he threw his weight sideways, diving behind a massive concrete support pillar.
The impact was deafening.
The pickup’s passenger side scraped against the pillar with a shower of orange sparks and the horrific screech of tearing metal. Concrete dust exploded into the air, blinding Daniel for a second as he rolled across the floor, scraping his palms and elbows against the grit.
The pickup stalled, radiator hissing violently.
Through the cloud of white dust and steam, Daniel scrambled to his feet. He looked toward the delivery bay.
The black SUV was gone. The delivery gate had been raised manually and was slowly rattling back down into place.
"Lily!" Daniel choked out, coughing through the dust.
He ran to the service bay door. It was locked from the outside. He spun around, sprinting back toward the stalled pickup truck. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel, dazed by the deployment of the airbag.
Daniel ripped the driver-side door open, dragged the man out by his collar, and slammed him against the concrete floor.
"Where are they taking her?!" Daniel bellowed, pressing his knee directly into the man’s sternum. "Where?!"
The driver coughed, blood bubbling at the corner of his lips. He was young—barely twenty—with the hollow, vacant look of a paid street muscle. "The... the old estate," the kid wheezed, his eyes rolling back in pain. "The foundation. The contract said... the sub-basement under the stable."
Daniel didn't wait for another word. He grabbed the kid’s utility belt, snatched a heavy tactical flashlight and a pair of heavy-duty bolt cutters from the truck’s exposed bed, and ran back toward the pedestrian stairs.
He burst into the apartment. Rachel was on the phone with the state police, her voice cracking with terror.
"Hang up," Daniel commanded, grabbing his car keys from the counter.
Rachel dropped the receiver. "Did you find her? Where is she?!"
"Vanessa didn't lie about the location," Daniel said, his eyes burning with an intensity Rachel had never seen in him before. "They took her to the colonial. Lily’s sixth birthday begins at midnight. The trust requires the child to be on Vance property to execute the transfer."
"The colonial was sold to a development firm!" Rachel cried. "It's scheduled for demolition!"
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"The development firm was bought through an offshore shell company owned by Marcus Vance’s trust," Daniel said, heading for the door. "They never sold it, Rachel. They bought it back from the bank to dig Lily out of the system. Come on."
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