The screen illuminated with a message from Trent Lasko:
The girl is secure. Ambulance is here. Burning the will tonight at the office. Finish the cabin and get back.
I stared at the glowing screen as the rain washed over it.
The will.
It suddenly all made sense.
The trust fund didn't automatically go to Arthur.
Sarah had written a new will before she died, hiding it in a safety deposit box.
The receipt I had found inside Lily’s locket was the key to that box.
Arthur’s empire was built on a mountain of debt, and Lily’s trust was the only thing keeping him afloat.
Lily had turned eighteen at midnight tonight.
Legally, she was now an adult.
She could claim the money, take the property, and walk away.
Arthur had tried to force her to sign over her rights, and when she ran to the cabin to find the proof, he tried to silence her forever.
My own phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was Bear.
"Boss," Bear said, his voice tense and rushed over the line. "We’ve got a massive problem. Trent just showed up at the hospital with a private transport team and a signed psychiatric hold from a judge on Arthur’s payroll. They claim Lily is a danger to herself. The local police are here, and they are backing Trent up."
"Where is she right now?" I demanded.
"They just wheeled her out of her room. They're moving her toward the loading dock. I’ve got twenty guys blocking the double doors, but the cops are pulling out their tasers. I can’t hold them off legally, Silas. If she gets in that van, she disappears."
"Don't let them through," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "I don't care about the law anymore. Hold that door."
I shoved the security guard’s phone into my pocket, leaving Miller and his men on the porch.
Let them burn the empty cabin.
The real evidence was sitting in Trent’s briefcase at the hospital, and the key to the vault was safe in my hand.
I sprinted back to my truck, throwing myself into the driver’s seat.
I slammed the vehicle into gear and tore down the dirt road, fishtailing wildly in the mud.
I pushed the heavy engine to its absolute limit, flying down the slick, winding county roads.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.
I had failed Sarah.
I had let Arthur’s wealth and lawyers intimidate me when my daughter needed me the most.
I had believed the official reports.
I had attended the funeral in silent, crushing shame.
But I was not going to bury my granddaughter.
The hospital came into view, surrounded by the flashing red and blue lights of local police cruisers.