# Chapter 14: The Decoy
The rain poured down, nearly extinguishing the flames of the burning ledger.
The tactical guard grabbed Evelyn by the hair and began dragging her toward the guardrail.
The black waters of the river raged twenty feet below.
Bianca was fighting viciously.
She bit the hand of the man holding her.
He cursed and struck her across the face, sending her sprawling.
“Throw the pregnant one first,” Richard ordered calmly.
The guard lifted Evelyn effortlessly.
He pushed her against the cold steel of the barrier.
Evelyn looked down at the churning water.
She thought of Adrian sitting in a cell.
She thought of the baby that would never draw its first breath.
A blinding pair of headlights suddenly crested the bridge.
An armored security truck roared toward them at highway speed.
It did not slow down.
It slammed directly into Richard’s parked SUV, crushing it against the barrier.
The tactical guards shouted in alarm and dropped Evelyn.
The back doors of the armored truck burst open.
Six heavily armed men poured out.
They surrounded Richard and his mercenaries in seconds.
From the passenger side of the truck, a tall figure stepped out into the rain.
It was Adrian.
He looked like a force of nature.
His black suit was soaked, and his expression was murderous.
“Adrian!” Evelyn cried out.
He rushed to her immediately.
He pulled her away from the edge and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered furiously into her hair.
“I’ve got you, Evie.”
Richard stared at his nephew in utter disbelief.
“How did you get out?” Richard stammered.
“I own the federal holding facility, Richard,” Adrian sneered.
“Did you think a fake poisoning would keep me locked up?”
He stood up, shielding Evelyn behind him.
His security team forced Richard to his knees on the wet pavement.
“It is over, Uncle,” Adrian said.
He looked at the smoldering ashes of the ledger.
Richard laughed bitterly.
“You have nothing,” Richard sneered.
“The book is destroyed.”
Adrian reached into his wet jacket.
“That was a decoy,” Adrian said coldly.
May you like
He pulled out the real, perfectly preserved leather book.
“I switched them before the police arrested me.”
