Chapter 13 - The Exchange
Michael ordered the exchange at an unfinished luxury development outside Austin.
Ashley for Andrew.
No police.
Sarah refused to risk her daughter.
Natalie created a different plan.
A tactical officer disguised as Sarah carried a hidden tracker.
A child-sized training mannequin sat beneath a blanket in the back seat.
Michael watched from a rooftop.
He realized the deception immediately.
Gunfire erupted.
Natalie and Ortiz moved through the unfinished building.
They found Andrew tied inside a concrete room.
A bomb vest was strapped to his chest.
The timer showed eight minutes.
Michael’s voice came through a speaker.
“You should have brought my daughter.”
Andrew looked at Natalie.
“Get out.”
She refused.
Bomb technicians guided her through cutting the correct wires.
The timer stopped at twelve seconds.
Outside, Sarah received a call.
Michael had never expected Ashley at the exchange.
While police focused on Andrew, Mercer entered the safe house through a utility tunnel.
He kidnapped Ashley and Evelyn.
Sarah screamed when she saw the empty room.
A stuffed puppy lay on the floor.
Inside it, Natalie found a tiny tracking tag.
Ashley had hidden it herself after hearing the adults discuss safety plans.
The signal moved east.
Natalie followed.
It stopped at Judge Price’s private airfield.
A jet waited on the runway.
Mercer pushed Ashley toward the stairs.
Evelyn stumbled behind him.
Michael stood beside the plane.
Ashley suddenly dropped to the ground and refused to move.
Mercer pulled her arm.
She bit him.
Evelyn struck him with her handbag.
Natalie arrived as shots were fired.
Michael dragged Ashley into the jet.
The door began closing.
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Natalie reached it just before takeoff.
👉 Ashley was trapped aboard the jet with the father who saw her as a fortune, and the plane was already racing down the runway.
