Chapter 16 - THE DESPERATE ESCAPE
The sharp strike of the judge’s gavel rang out like a gunshot in the high-ceilinged courtroom.
Federal agents moved in swiftly, locking heavy steel cuffs around Kael’s wrists. His tailored suit jacket bunched awkwardly as he was hauled backward toward the holding cell door, his eyes wild with a mixture of terror and disbelief.
"Elowen! Talk to them!" Kael screamed, his voice cracking violently as his composure shattered. "Mara made me do it! It was all her idea! Elowen, please!"
Elowen didn't answer. She stood completely still beside the federal prosecutor, her chin raised, watching her husband dragged through the iron security door.
Beside the spectator gallery, Mara’s eyes burned with a cold, venomous fury. The polished facade she had maintained for decades was stripped away, revealing the calculating predator beneath. As two female federal officers approached her to enforce the asset freeze and freeze her travel clearance, Mara reached into her designer handbag.
PHZZZZT!
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Without warning, Mara deployed a small, high-powered aerosol defense spray directly into the eyes of the nearest officer.
The deputy shrieked, clutching her face as she stumbled backward into the gallery benches. In the sudden wave of confusion and gasping spectators, Mara spun around, shoved past a court clerk, and bolted through the side emergency exit into the rain-drenched streets outside.
