PART 20
The fire department couldn't save the house,
it burned to the ground within an hour,
fed by the chemicals in my dad’s workshop.
They recovered his body later that night.
The official report said smoke inhalation,
but I knew the truth.
Judge Vance had escaped through the woods before the feds arrived,
vanishing into the night like a ghost.
The FBI took Noah and me to a safe house,
a nondescript brick building in a military compound two hours away.
For three days,
I sat in a sterile room,
answering questions for agents from the Department of Justice.
The ledger was a goldmine.
It contained transaction records for over fifty high-ranking officials,
linking them to Ethan’s shell companies and a massive money-laundering web.
But Judge Vance was still missing.
He was a cornered rat,
and that made him dangerous.
On the fourth morning,
Sarah Mitchell walked into my room,
looking exhausted,
dark circles under her eyes.
"We found Claire,"
she said without preamble.
"What?"
I stood up,
"Is she okay?"
"She’s in protective custody at a local hospital,"
Sarah sighed,
sitting down.
"She tried to run when she heard about your father."
"Vance’s people caught her."
"She took a bullet to the shoulder,
but she survived."
"She wants to see you, Emma."
"She says she has something Ethan gave her before he died."
I frowned,
"Before he died?
What are you talking about?"
Sarah looked down at her hands,
unable to meet my eyes.
"Ethan was found dead in his cell last night."
"They ruled it a suicide,"
"but we know better."
"He was eliminated."
I sat back down,
the room suddenly very cold.
Ethan was gone.
The man who destroyed my life was dead,
murdered by the monster he tried to serve.
May you like
And now,
my sister was the only one left who knew how to stop him.
