Chapter 7 - The Escape Plan
"Take my car," Emma said without hesitation, reaching up to unhook the single silver key ring. "It's parked in the employee lot around the corner on Pine Street. Nobody is looking for a beat-up Honda."
Vittorio reached out, his warm, calloused fingers brushing against hers as he took the keys. "You are risking everything by doing this, Emma. Once you step into this car with us, there is no going back to normal."
"Normal was overrated anyway," Emma replied with a faint, nervous smile. She ran back into the storage room and gently coaxed a frightened Sophia out from behind the pallets, wrapping her tightly in Carol's winter blanket.
They moved swiftly through the back door, stepping over the puddles in the alley as the Newark rain began to taper off into a cold, misty drizzle. The city skyline loomed in the distance, dark and menacing against the pre-dawn gray.
Emma unlocked her little Honda, sliding into the driver's seat while Vittorio carefully settled Sophia into the back before climbing into the passenger seat, keeping his weapon hidden beneath his wool coat.
"Where to?" Emma asked, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
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"Federal Plaza," Vittorio instructed, staring straight ahead through the windshield. "Ask for Agent Miller in the field division. Tell him the Maroney ledger has been secured."
Emma put the car in drive, peeled out of the lot, and headed toward the federal building, leaving Rosie’s Diner and her old life far behind in the rearview mirror.
