Page 71 of Cruel Riches

“Sure.” I pointed up the street toward my car. “That’s my car there.”

“All right. Give me a few minutes.”

I went and sat in my car. A few minutes later, a dark red sedan pulled up next to me, and Jon waved to me from the front seat. “Ready?” he mouthed.

I nodded and turned my key in the ignition.

We drove up the street and turned onto a major boulevard, cruising past restaurants and bars with bright lights and clusters of people braving the cold to take nighttime strolls.

When we reached the end, we swung a left and headed down another street into a different neighborhood. It was still the inner city, packed with apartment buildings and businesses, but it was nowhere near as bright and busy as the area we’d just come from. Most of the stores and offices here had closed for the day, and their lights were off, leaving the streets dark and tranquil.

Jon slowed down at a sign which indicated a one-way side street on the right. He waited for me to catch up, and then he turned.

The narrow street was dark and lined with fences and brick facades from the surrounding buildings. When I squinted, I could see a few townhouses right at the end. Jon’s sister probably lived in one of them.

Jon suddenly turned left onto a service road that I hadn’t noticed until now. I started to turn as well, but before I could get anywhere, a pair of headlights appeared in front of my car, almost blinding me.

I slammed on the brakes and squinted, raising a hand above my face to cover the bright lights as the vehicle cut me off from the service road.

“This is a one-way street!” I called out, honking on my horn as the car in front of me remained there, shining their headlights onto me. “You need to reverse out!”

They didn’t move.

I rolled my eyes and let out an irritated sigh. This city was packed with assholes who acted like they owned the roads even though they could barely drive.

Just as I decided to reverse my own car back onto the main street and call Jon for new directions, another pair of headlights appeared in my rearview mirror, almost blinding me again. There was a powerful roar as they revved the engine and moved further forward, pinning me between them and the car in front of me.

“What the fuck?” I looked to my left and right in rapid succession, trying to think of a way out of this mess. Then I saw several dark figures step out of the car ahead of me; tall and terrifying silhouettes against the bright light.

As I stared at them, I felt an icy knot deep inside me, like skeletal fingers were squeezing at my stomach. Were these the people who framed my father? If so, what did they want from me? Did they use Jon to set me up, or was my meeting with him just a coincidence?

I glanced in my rearview mirror. More dark figures were stepping out of the car behind me. All of them were wearing something on their heads to hide their identities—black plague masks with curved beaks.

I heard a click as one of the figures ahead of me held up a key fob, and with a jolt, I realized it was the sound of my own doors unlocking. Somehow, these people had a copy of my car keys.

Terror drained the blood from my face and robbed me of my breath, turning my limbs into jelly.

“Please!” I cried out as one of the tallest figures approached my door and wrenched it open. “Please don’t hurt me!”

I had just enough time to see a black cloth descending in his hand before it covered my face, filling my mouth and nostrils with a bitter taste and sickly-sweet scent. I gasped for breath, struggling to break free, but the man held me down with his free hand. He never said a word. All I could hear was his breath rasping out from under the sinister plague mask.

I took another half-choked breath. Then dizziness overwhelmed me.

My body was wrenched away, and my mind was spinning with it, utterly helpless, before everything went black.

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