Chapter 3 - The Race Against Time
The threat hanging over my phone screen wasn't an empty warning—it was an admission of panic.
Within two hours, Rachel Kim had secured an emergency temporary protection order against Derek for domestic assault, alongside an emergency court-ordered preservation of assets for Eleanor Vale’s estate. For the first time, the crushing weight in my chest lifted slightly. I finally understood that whatever dark secret Derek was guarding wasn't ancient history. It was an active, ongoing financial crime syndicate, and it was important enough for him to viciously strike his own wife in front of three hundred people to keep it buried.
We were walking out of Rachel’s conference room when the attorney’s desk phone began ringing shrilly.
Rachel sprinted back toward her desk, snatching the receiver before it could ring a third time. “Rachel Kim... Yes... Wait, slow down. When did this happen?”
Her face went completely pale. She stood up so fast that her office chair slammed violently into the wood-paneled wall behind her.
“What is it?” I asked, my heart dropping.
“That was the director of Maple Glen,” Rachel said, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp gear of absolute urgency. “Adult Protective Services contacted the facility an hour ago to initiate a welfare check on Eleanor. But someone tipped them off, or someone was watching.”
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“Derek?” I gasped.
“He didn't wait for a court order,” Rachel said, grabbing her blazer off the back of the chair. “Derek just arrived at Maple Glen with emergency medical transfer papers and a private transport team. He’s trying to move Eleanor out of Room 214 before the state investigator can get through the front doors!”
