CHAPTER 11 – The Race to the Cabin
"The first baby's records."
Victor's trembling words sucked every ounce of air from the room.
Lila stared at him.
"My baby's... records?"
Victor nodded weakly.
"They were never destroyed."
"I thought Derek burned everything."
Marcus stepped closer.
"What exactly is at that cabin?"
Victor hesitated.
Captain Brooks' voice cut through the silence.
"Answer him."
Victor closed his eyes.
"It's where Derek hid everything."
"Financial records."
"Hard drives."
"Phones."
"Paper files."
"And..."
His voice nearly disappeared.
"...evidence from the first pregnancy."
Lila felt the room spin.
She grabbed the edge of the dining table to steady herself.
Marcus immediately caught her arm.
"You don't have to do this."
She slowly shook her head.
"No."
"I've spent years running from the truth."
She looked toward the rain-soaked windows.
"I'm done."
Captain Brooks turned to the detectives.
"How far?"
"About ninety miles."
The detective checked the GPS.
"Two hours in this weather."
Marcus looked at the dark clouds gathering outside.
"We don't have two hours."
Captain Brooks nodded.
"We don't."
She looked toward Victor.
"Who sent that text?"
Victor swallowed.
"I don't know."
"You expect us to believe that?"
"I swear."
"I never knew his name."
"Only..."
He hesitated.
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"Only what?"
Victor whispered,
"Derek called him 'Ghost.'"
The name settled heavily over the room.
Richard Carter frowned.
"I've heard that before."
Everyone looked at him.
"When?"
Richard rubbed his forehead.
"Several years ago."
"Derek mentioned someone who could..."
He stopped.
Marcus finished the sentence.
"...make problems disappear."
Richard nodded slowly.
"I thought he was exaggerating."
Captain Brooks immediately radioed dispatch.
"Alert State Police."
"I need every unit available heading toward Black Pine Ridge."
"Possible evidence destruction in progress."
Her radio crackled.
"Copy that."
Across the room...
Derek suddenly laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough.
Marcus turned.
"What is so funny?"
Derek leaned back in his chair.
"You'll never make it."
Captain Brooks stepped closer.
"Why not?"
He smiled.
"Because by the time you get there..."
"...there won't be anything left."
Marcus watched him carefully.
Something didn't fit.
Derek looked nervous all morning.
Now...
He looked confident.
Too confident.
Marcus had spent decades reading people under pressure.
This wasn't relief.
This was expectation.
Someone was buying time.
He slowly turned toward Captain Brooks.
"We're being distracted."
She frowned.
"Explain."
Marcus pointed toward Derek.
"He's waiting."
"For what?"
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
His eyes scanned the room.
Then...
They landed on the shattered front door.
Understanding hit him instantly.
"Lila."
Marcus' voice became urgent.
"Where's your phone?"
She blinked.
"My phone?"
"The one you called me with."
She frowned.
"It was..."
Her eyes widened.
"My purse."
She looked around the room.
"It's gone."
Everyone froze.
An officer immediately searched the living room.
Nothing.
The kitchen.
Nothing.
The staircase.
Nothing.
Captain Brooks looked toward the evidence table.
"It was there earlier."
The officer nodded.
"It disappeared."
Marcus' expression hardened.
"Someone took it."
Brooke suddenly gasped.
"The paramedic."
Everyone turned.
"What?"
Brooke pointed toward the driveway.
"When they finished examining Lila..."
"...one of them asked where her purse was."
Captain Brooks' face changed instantly.
"The ambulance."
She rushed outside.
The driveway was empty.
The ambulance...
Was gone.
One detective immediately checked dispatch.
"Captain..."
His voice turned grim.
"We have a problem."
"What?"
"There was never an ambulance assigned to this address."
Silence.
Every officer stopped moving.
Marcus slowly turned toward Derek.
His smile was back.
Captain Brooks spoke carefully.
"Then who examined Lila?"
No one answered.
Until Martha whispered,
"They weren't paramedics..."
"They were here to take something."
Marcus felt ice run through his veins.
The Doppler.
The medical bags.
The uniforms.
Perfect.
Professional.
Completely fake.
Captain Brooks immediately grabbed her radio.
"Statewide BOLO."
"Locate a white ambulance with stolen EMS markings."
"Possible suspects connected to an active felony investigation."
The forensic technician hurried downstairs carrying another evidence bag.
"Captain!"
"We found fingerprints."
"On what?"
"The fake medical equipment."
Captain Brooks frowned.
"Run them."
The technician nodded.
"They're already processing."
Just then...
The fingerprint database responded.
The technician stared at the screen.
Then looked up.
His face had gone pale.
"Captain..."
"What?"
"We have a match."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Who is it?"
The technician slowly answered.
"Former Army Ranger."
Everyone looked toward Marcus.
The Colonel frowned.
"I don't know him."
The technician continued reading.
"Discharged fifteen years ago."
"Private security contractor."
"Multiple aliases."
Then...
He read the final line.
"Primary operational nickname..."
Marcus already knew before the words came.
"...Ghost."
Captain Brooks looked at Marcus.
"You've heard of him."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Once."
Years ago.
Afghanistan.
Nobody knew Ghost's real name.
Only that he specialized in disappearing people...
...and destroying evidence.
Richard looked horrified.
"Derek hired someone like that?"
Marcus didn't answer.
His silence was enough.
An officer rushed back inside.
"Captain!"
"We found tire tracks behind the mansion."
Captain Brooks looked outside.
"There was another vehicle."
The officer nodded.
"Someone left through the service road."
Marcus looked toward Derek.
"You were never trying to escape."
Derek smiled.
"I never needed to."
Marcus understood everything.
The fake ambulance.
The missing phone.
The message about the cabin.
It had all been designed for one purpose.
To send everyone in the wrong direction.
Captain Brooks immediately ordered,
"Seal every exit."
"No one moves."
Marcus wasn't listening anymore.
He walked straight toward Lila.
"What did you keep on your phone?"
She thought for a moment.
Then her face drained of color.
"My recordings."
Marcus frowned.
"What recordings?"
Lila's breathing quickened.
"For months..."
"I secretly recorded Derek."
Captain Brooks spun around.
"You what?"
Lila nodded.
"I hid my phone under the pillow..."
"...inside flower pots..."
"...inside the nursery."
"I was afraid no one would believe me."
Marcus stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She whispered,
"Because I was afraid he'd find them."
Captain Brooks asked the question everyone feared.
"Where were the recordings backed up?"
Lila's lips trembled.
"They weren't."
Silence.
Everything...
Every confession...
Every threat...
Every moment Derek thought no one was listening...
Existed only on that missing phone.
Derek leaned back in his chair.
His smile widened.
"You can chase cabins."
"You can chase Ghost."
"It doesn't matter."
He looked directly at Lila.
"The only evidence that could bury me..."
"...just drove away."
Marcus slowly walked toward him.
His face was unreadable.
"You've made one mistake."
Derek smirked.
"Oh?"
Marcus leaned down until they were eye level.
"You assumed my daughter learned resilience from surviving you."
He paused.
"She learned it from me."
Derek frowned.
Marcus smiled for the first time that day.
A cold...
Confident...
Soldier's smile.
Then he looked at Captain Brooks.
"My daughter never trusted only one hiding place."
Lila blinked.
Marcus looked back at her.
"Did you?"
Lila stared at him for several long seconds.
Then...
Very slowly...
She smiled.
"I remembered."
Captain Brooks stepped forward immediately.
"What did you remember?"
Lila looked toward the nursery.
Then whispered seven words that changed everything again.
May you like
"I copied every recording onto another device."
End of Chapter 11
