Elena pulled her gold-cased iPhone from her purse, her fingers trembling slightly as she hit the speed dial for Marcus.
She placed the phone on the glass coffee table between them and turned on the speaker button.
The line rang four times before a male voice answered, accompanied by the background noise of a loud, roaring engine.
Elena: Marcus? Where are you? Mark came home early, the whole plan is compromised!
Marcus: I'm already at the hanger, Elena. The charter plane is warming up on the tarmac right now.
Elena: Good! Wait for me! I'm grabbing my passport and heading to Fort Worth immediately!
Marcus: Yeah... about that, Elena. The pilot says weight restrictions are tight, and honestly, carrying extra baggage is bad for business.
Elena: What? Marcus, what are you talking about? I gave you the combination code! I got the deeds out of the safe for you!
Marcus: And I appreciate the heavy lifting, babe. Truly. But three million splits much better one way than two.
Elena: Marcus, you can't do this to me! I gave up everything for this! If I go down, I'm telling the police you masterminded the entire theft!
Marcus: Tell them whatever you want from your prison cell. Good luck finding me in non-extradition territory. Goodbye, Elena.
The line went completely dead, leaving a harsh dial tone echoing through the high-ceilinged room.
Elena stared at the phone in total disbelief, her breath coming in fast, shallow gasps as the reality of her betrayal crushed down on her.
Elena: No... no, no, no! He wouldn't do this to me! He promised we were going to start over in South America!
Mark: It seems like your business partner was just as loyal to you as you were to me.
Elena: Mark, you have to stop him! Call your security team! Call the federal authorities! He took your property deeds!
Mark: Oh, don't worry, Elena. I don't need to call anyone.
Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black tracking device, showing the glowing green dot moving slowly across a digital map on his phone screen.
Mark: Did you really think I kept three million dollars worth of original deeds in a residential safe without hidden GPS transponders inside the folder lining?
Elena: You... you tracked the documents?
Mark: State troopers and federal marshals pulled Marcus over on Interstate 35 ten minutes ago. Sarah called them the moment she left the house with Lily.
Outside the front gates of the estate, loud police sirens began to wail, blue and red lights flashing rhythmically through the tall glass windows of the living room.
Mark: That sound isn't for Marcus, Elena. That sound is for you.
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