Chapter 13 - The Cabin Above TimberlineThe female victim wasn’t Ava.
Claire learned that fourteen unbearable minutes later.
It was a deputy.
Shot through the shoulder.
Alive.
Ethan had abandoned the cabin moments before officers arrived.
Ava was gone.
Inside, police found blood.
Not enough to suggest a fatal injury.
But enough to terrify Claire.
Then they found Maya’s camera.
Broken.
Memory card removed.
Maya stared at the evidence photograph.
“That’s mine.”
“How did it get there?”
“Mara took it after attacking me.”
“So Ethan had it.”
Maya shook her head.
“He thinks the original photo was on that card.”
Claire looked at her.
“Wasn’t it?”
“No.”
Maya reached into the waistband of her borrowed jeans and removed a tiny plastic object wrapped in tissue.
Mercer stared.
“You’ve had the card the entire time?”
“No.”
She unfolded the tissue.
A microSD card.
“This is a backup.”
Claire almost laughed.
“Why didn’t you give it to police?”
“Because I didn’t trust anyone.”
Mercer looked offended.
“Your mother believed someone connected to law enforcement helped bury her case.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Maya handed over the card.
The photographs loaded.
Mountain.
Waterfall.
Claire and Ethan at the summit.
Several distant shots.
Then the sequence.
Claire closing her eyes.
Ethan approaching.
His hands on her shoulders.
The shove.
Claire falling.
Ethan standing above.
Perfect.
Undeniable.
Claire stared at the image of herself midair.
Her face captured the instant she understood.
Betrayal.
Shock.
Terror.
Maya looked away.
“I’m sorry.”
Claire couldn’t speak.
Mercer whispered, “This puts him away.”
“If we catch him,” Ruiz said.
Another image followed.
Ethan checking the water.
Then turning.
Then lifting Claire’s backpack.
And then—
Claire leaned closer.
“What is that?”
Maya zoomed in.
Behind Ethan, near the tree line, stood another man.
Watching.
Claire recognized the shape before she saw the face.
Michael.
Her ex-husband had been on the mountain.
Claire’s knees weakened.
“He was there.”
Maya nodded slowly.
“I didn’t notice him until later.”
Mercer called officers.
Michael was still in custody.
They brought him into interrogation again.
This time Claire insisted on entering.
Michael stared when she opened the door.
His face collapsed.
“Claire.”
She stood across from him.
“You watched him push me.”
Michael began crying.
“I didn’t know he was going to—”
“You were there.”
“I followed him.”
“Why?”
“To stop him.”
Claire slammed the photograph onto the table.
“You stood fifty yards away.”
“I froze.”
“You froze while I fell?”
“I thought he was bluffing.”
“About killing me?”
Michael shook his head desperately.
“I told him you knew about the policy because I wanted him to panic.”
“Why?”
“To force him to run.”
“You forced him to murder me.”
“I didn’t think he would.”
Claire stared at the man she had once built a life with.
“You keep saying that.”
Michael lowered his head.
“Rebecca told me what Ethan was doing. I wanted out. Ethan threatened Ava. He threatened you.”
“So you helped him.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By giving him my schedule?”
Michael’s voice broke.
“I was afraid.”
Claire leaned closer.
“So was I when I hit the water.”
Michael closed his eyes.
Claire stepped away.
“Where did Ethan take Ava?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
“He likes control. If he has Ava, it’s because he wants something.”
“The photograph.”
“Maybe.”
Michael looked up suddenly.
“Or the ledger.”
“What ledger?”
Mara had never mentioned one.
Neither had Maya.
Michael’s face changed when he realized they didn’t know.
“Ethan kept records.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because the ledger contains names.”
“Victims?”
“Clients. Partners. People who helped move money.”
Claire’s pulse increased.
“How many?”
“Dozens.”
Mercer leaned forward.
“Who’s in it?”
Michael swallowed.
“Judges. Attorneys. Bankers.”
“Police?”
Michael didn’t answer.
Maya had been right not to trust anyone.
Then Michael looked at Claire.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Ethan said he kept the ledger somewhere no one would ever search.”
Claire waited.
Michael whispered:
“With the woman nobody knows is still alive.”
Claire frowned.
“Who?”
“Monica Reed.”
Claire remembered the storage box.
One of Ethan’s targets.
Listed as alive.
“Where is she?”
Michael’s voice dropped.
“She didn’t escape Ethan.”
Claire’s skin prickled.
“He let her live.”
May you like
“Why?”
“Because Monica became part of the operation.”
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