Part 5: The Takedown
The plan was dangerous, reckless, and the only thing Elena would agree to.
She stood in the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 4, an area open to the public but crowded enough to provide cover. Underneath her trench coat, she wore a wire. Detective Miller and four plainclothes officers were scattered around the perimeter—one posing as a limo driver, two as tourists, one as a janitor.
Sarah was in the surveillance van outside, watching the monitors, screaming internally.
Elena’s phone rang.
“Answer it,” Miller’s voice crackled in her earpiece.
Elena swiped the screen. “Mark?”
“Elena!” Mark’s voice was a mixture of relief and fury. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been tearing the airport apart!”
“I… I got scared, Mark,” Elena stammered, channeling the trembling, insecure wife he expected her to be. “I didn’t get on the plane. I’m at Arrivals. I’m waiting for you to pick me up. Please, just take me home.”
“Stay right there,” Mark commanded. “Do not move. I see you.”
Elena looked up.
On the mezzanine level above, Mark Sterling appeared. He looked impeccable in his bespoke suit, but his eyes were manic. He scanned the crowd, spotting Elena near the baggage carousel.
He didn’t take the escalator. He ran down the stairs, pushing past a family with a stroller.
Elena stood her ground. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but she planted her feet. She was the bait.
Mark reached her. He didn’t hug her. He grabbed her arm, his grip bruisingly tight.
“You stupid bitch,” he hissed, his face inches from hers. The mask of the loving husband had completely dissolved. “Do you have any idea what you’ve cost me?”
“You’re hurting me, Mark,” Elena said, her voice loud enough for the wire to catch.
“I’m going to do a lot worse than hurt you,” Mark whispered, dragging her toward the exit doors, toward the parking garage. “We’re going to the car. You’re going to sign those papers. And then we’re going to fix this mess.”
“What papers?” Elena asked, digging her heels in. “The Power of Attorney?”
Mark stopped. He looked at her, really looked at her, and saw something he hadn’t expected. She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t trembling. She was staring at him with cold, hard eyes.
“How do you know about that?” Mark asked quietly.
“Because Sarah isn’t as stupid as you think she is,” Elena said.
Mark’s hand went to his waistband. He felt the outline of the gun.
“Get in the car, Elena,” he growled, pulling the gun partially out, concealing it with his jacket. “Now.”
“Police! Drop the weapon!”
The shout echoed through the terminal like a gunshot.
Mark spun around. The “limo driver” had a Glock pointed at his chest. The “tourists” had drawn weapons. Detective Miller was sprinting toward them.
“It’s a mistake!” Mark screamed, his voice cracking. He grabbed Elena, pulling her in front of him as a shield. “Back off! I have a gun!”
The crowd screamed. Travelers dove for cover.
“Mark, look at me,” Elena said calmly, though the barrel of his gun was pressed against her spine.
“Shut up!” Mark yelled at the police. “I want a car! I want a flight out of here!”
“It’s over, Mark,” Elena said. “They have the video. The study. The safe. The conversation with Rico. They have it all.”
Mark froze. The color drained from his face. “What?”
“I saw you,” she whispered. “I saw the monster.”
In that second of hesitation, Mark’s grip loosened. Elena didn’t wait for the police. She stomped her heel down onto Mark’s instep with all her strength and threw her elbow back into his ribs.
Mark howled, stumbling back.
Before he could raise the gun, Detective Miller tackled him. The impact sent them both crashing into a luggage cart. The gun skittered across the polished floor.
Three officers were on him instantly.
“Mark Sterling, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and extortion.”
Mark was pressed face-down against the tile, his expensive suit tearing at the shoulder. He twisted his head up, looking for Elena.
“Elena!” he screamed, desperate now. “Elena, baby, tell them! It was a misunderstanding! I love you! I did it for us!”
Elena stood over him. She adjusted her coat. She looked down at the man who had shared her bed, managed her money, and planned her death.
“You don’t love me, Mark,” she said, her voice cutting through the noise of the terminal. “You loved the money. And now, you don’t have either.”
As they hauled him away in handcuffs, Mark’s eyes locked onto hers. The love was gone. The charm was gone. There was only hate.
“You’ll never be safe!” he screamed as they dragged him through the automatic doors. “I’m not the only one!”
But the glass doors slid shut, silencing him.
Sarah burst through the police cordon. She didn’t ask if Elena was okay. She just wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed until Elena could barely breathe.
And for the first time that day, Elena cried.
