Chapter 12 - THE LAKE HOUSE
Police found the rental through Melissa’s hidden email account.
Daniel was ordered to stay back while officers searched it.
Ramirez stopped him at the driveway.
“You cross that line, I send you home.”
“That house has something my daughter was threatened with.”
“And I’m going to find it.”
“There’s a storage compartment under the dock.”
Daniel’s face drained.
“Big enough for a child?”
She hesitated. “Yes.”
Inside, police found blankets, bottled water, a battery light, and a camera tripod.
Planned.
Normalized.
Like somebody expected a frightened child to be kept there long enough to learn obedience.
They also found suitcases containing Melissa’s clothes, Lily’s clothes, cash, and passports.
One passport was genuine.
One was not.
The fake document had Lily’s photograph and a different last name.
Daniel stared at it.
“They were going to take her.”
Maya nodded. “Looks like they were preparing to.”
“Where?”
Police found airline searches for Costa Rica, Portugal, and the Cayman Islands.
Then a forensic tech brought Ramirez a small black device recovered from behind a wall panel.
A portable drive.
Omar connected remotely and helped decrypt it.
The files included copies of Daniel’s company credentials, board communications, insurance documents, and video drafts.
But one folder was different.
PERSONAL LEVERAGE.
Inside were private recordings of Hart Systems directors.
Evan had been blackmailing people.
One director taking cash.
Another having an affair.
A third discussing insider information.
Daniel stared at the screen.
“This wasn’t just about replacing me.”
Maya shook her head. “He was building control.”
Then Omar opened the final file.
It was a live location log.
One device was still transmitting.
Melissa’s second backup phone.
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The signal was moving south toward Chicago.
And it was headed straight for Daniel’s hospital.
