Chapter 8 - The Hunt for Ryan
Ryan’s "business trip" was supposed to be a flight to Chicago, but I knew his habits better than he realized. Whenever he was in deep financial trouble, he fled to a private, unregistered cabin in the deep woods near Eagle Lake—a property he had bought using his mother’s maiden name to keep it hidden from bankruptcy courts.
Detective Miller acted instantly. A federal warrant was issued for Ryan’s arrest on charges of attempted double homicide, corporate fraud, and aggravated arson. The digital footprint from the Apex Holdings documents I discovered provided the FBI with a clear path to freeze all his accounts before he could withdraw the cash he needed to flee the country.
Two days later, I sat in the secure briefing room at the local police precinct. Sophie was safe in an adjoining room, colored markers in hand, guarded by a gentle child psychologist.
"We tracked his vehicle, Mrs. Vance," Detective Miller said, turning on a monitor showing a live tracking grid. "He’s holed up in the cabin at Eagle Lake. He thinks he’s waiting for Marcus to send confirmation of your... of the incident so he can file the insurance claim."
"Let me speak to him," I said, my voice dead calm.
"Clara, that’s highly irregular and dangerous," Miller replied.
"He won't answer your calls, Detective. He thinks he’s won. If he hears my voice, he’ll know the illusion is shattered. He’ll surrender before he does something desperate."
Miller hesitated, then signaled the tech specialist to patch a secure, un-traceable line through to Ryan’s personal satellite phone at the cabin. The phone rang once, twice, three times. Then, a click.
"Marcus? Is it clear? Is the claim filed?" Ryan’s voice came through the speaker, filled with a frantic, breathless anxiety.
"It’s not Marcus, Ryan," I said smoothly into the microphone.
A suffocating, dead silence filled the line. I could hear Ryan’s ragged breathing over the static of the satellite connection.
May you like
"Clara...?" he whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of terror and disbelief. "How... how are you alive?"
"Because I am stronger than you, Ryan. And because your daughter is smarter than you could ever dream to be. The police are outside your cabin right now. The accounts are frozen. The money is gone. It's over."
