Chapter 4 – The Fall of the Phantom
The first police siren was still nearly a mile away.
It was too far.
Far too far.
The forklift shuddered violently beneath the impossible weight of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Steel twisted with a deafening screech that echoed through the underground garage.
Daniel looked at the warped support mast.
"It's giving out!"
Ethan immediately wrapped one arm around my shoulders while placing his other hand protectively over my stomach.
"Emily."
His voice shook.
"When I say move... don't look back."
I nodded through tears.
Another contraction nearly stole my breath.
My vision blurred.
The baby kicked so hard it felt as though our little one was fighting alongside us.
Margaret, meanwhile, slowly backed toward the elevator.
She had realized something.
The murder was failing.
But if the car still crushed us...
No jury would ever know the difference.
She pressed another button on the remote hidden inside her sleeve.
A mechanical alarm suddenly blared.
Daniel spun toward the control panel.
"No..."
The emergency hydraulic lock disengaged.
The forklift was no longer supporting only the weight of the car.
Now the damaged lift itself had begun collapsing.
The Rolls-Royce lurched sideways.
Its front tire slipped off the forklift's steel forks.
Everyone froze.
For one impossible heartbeat...
Three tons of polished steel balanced on a single bent support beam.
Then—
CRACK!
"The car!"
Daniel shouted.
"It's falling!"
Without thinking, Ethan threw himself over me.
The Rolls-Royce crashed toward us.
The sound was like a building collapsing.
Daniel grabbed the forklift's manual steering lever with both hands and yanked it with every ounce of strength left in his body.
The vehicle shifted barely six inches.
Just enough.
The Rolls-Royce slammed into the concrete beside us instead of directly above us.
The impact shook the entire garage.
Glass exploded.
The windshield shattered into thousands of glittering fragments.
The hood folded upward.
Concrete cracked beneath the enormous weight.
Dust filled the air so thickly no one could see.
For several terrifying seconds...
There was only silence.
Then Ethan coughed.
"Emily?"
"I'm here..."
"My God..."
He pulled me tightly into his arms.
"We're alive."
Daniel staggered backward, breathing heavily.
One of the forklift's steel arms snapped completely and crashed onto the floor beside him.
He looked at the wrecked luxury car.
"If that had fallen six inches to the left..."
None of us needed him to finish the sentence.
Margaret stared at the destroyed vehicle.
Disbelief slowly spread across her face.
"This..."
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
The distant sirens grew louder.
She heard them too.
Her composure disappeared.
For the first time in decades...
Margaret Blackwood panicked.
She turned and sprinted toward the elevator.
"She's running!" Daniel shouted.
Ethan started after her.
But I grabbed his sleeve.
Another sharp pain tore through my abdomen.
He looked down.
Fresh blood stained the concrete beneath me.
His face went pale.
"My God..."
"My water broke," I whispered.
"I know."
He dropped to his knees beside me.
"We need an ambulance now!"
Daniel immediately pulled out his phone.
Before he could dial—
The garage doors exploded open.
Five black SUVs raced inside one after another.
Men in dark suits poured out.
Not police.
Private security.
Blackwood Global Executive Protection.
Their leader, a gray-haired former Marine named Victor Hayes, immediately assessed the scene.
His eyes widened as he recognized Ethan.
"Mr. Blackwood!"
He saw me lying on the ground.
Then the wrecked Rolls-Royce.
Then the blood.
His military instincts took over.
"Medic team!"
"Seal every exit!"
"No one leaves this building!"
Eight guards spread through the garage within seconds.
Two sprinted toward the elevator.
But they were too late.
The doors had already closed.
Margaret was gone.
Victor knelt beside Ethan.
"Sir..."
He lowered his voice.
"We intercepted something."
He handed Ethan a tablet.
Security footage from the mansion appeared on the screen.
The timestamp read:
Thirty minutes earlier.
Margaret was standing inside Richard Blackwood's private study.
She wasn't alone.
Across the desk sat three members of Blackwood Global's Board of Directors.
Victor pressed play.
Margaret slid thick envelopes across the desk.
Cash.
Millions.
One director hesitated.
"We can't hide attempted murder forever."
Margaret smiled coldly.
"You won't have to."
She placed another document on the table.
A prepared death certificate.
Emily Blackwood.
Cause of death:
Industrial Accident.
Time of death:
Already filled in.
My blood ran cold.
She had prepared my death certificate...
Before bringing me to the garage.
Victor looked at Ethan.
"It gets worse."
He switched to another video.
This one was recorded only fifteen minutes ago.
Margaret stood inside the mansion's vault.
She opened a hidden compartment beneath the safe.
Inside...
Were dozens of sealed envelopes.
Each carried the name of a Blackwood executive.
Each contained evidence.
Blackmail files.
Photos.
Illegal transactions.
Secret affairs.
Bribes.
Every powerful person in the empire...
Had been under Margaret's control for years.
Ethan stared at the screen in stunned silence.
Daniel whispered,
"She wasn't just protecting the company..."
Victor slowly nodded.
"No."
He looked Ethan straight in the eye.
"Your mother has been running a criminal empire from inside Blackwood Global."
Just then, one of the security guards shouted from the garage entrance.
"Sir!"
Victor turned.
"What is it?"
The guard pointed toward the security monitor.
Everyone looked.
A black helicopter was lifting off from the roof of Blackwood Manor.
Margaret stood inside the open cabin door.
She looked directly into the rooftop security camera.
Then...
She smiled.
And before the helicopter disappeared into the night...
She held up something in her hand.
A small silver flash drive.
Richard Blackwood's handwriting was clearly visible on its label.
FINAL EVIDENCE.
Ethan's breathing stopped.
Because he knew exactly what that drive contained.
His father had once told him...
"If the truth ever disappears... everything is stored on one drive."
And now...
May you like
The only evidence capable of destroying Margaret forever...
Was flying away with her into the darkness.
