PART 19
Detective Vance dropped the crowbar,
it clattered against the asphalt as he slowly raised his hands.
Two federal agents tackled him to the ground,
pinning his face into the puddle,
ratcheting handcuffs tightly onto his wrists.
Sarah Mitchell ran over to me,
throwing her jacket over my shivering shoulders.
"Are you okay? Where’s Noah?"
"In the car,"
I choked out,
fumbling in my pocket for the key fob.
I pressed the button,
the locks clicking open.
I threw the door open and pulled the blanket back.
Noah was curled in a ball,
his hands over his ears,
eyes tightly shut.
"Ninety-eight,
ninety-nine,
one hundred,"
he whispered,
his voice trembling.
"Mommy, I won."
I pulled him into my arms,
sobbing uncontrollably,
holding him so tight he gasped.
"You won, baby,
you won,"
I cried,
kissing his wet hair.
Sarah looked at the ledger in my hand,
her eyes widening as she saw the binding.
"Is that it?"
"Yes,"
I wiped my nose,
handing it to her.
"Judge Vance is at my dad’s house."
"He...
he killed my father, Sarah."
Her face went pale,
a look of deep sorrow and fury crossing her features.
"We’ll get him, Emma."
"I promise you."
She turned to her radio,
barking orders to another team to surround my father’s property.
But as she spoke,
a loud explosion echoed from the direction of the woods.
A column of black smoke rose into the rainy sky,
tinged with orange flames.
My father’s house was on fire.
Judge Vance was burning the evidence,
and any trace of his presence,
along with my father’s body.
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The nightmare wasn't ending;
it was entering a war zone.
