Chapter 4 - The GPS Tracker
I stared at Daniel, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
I asked him how he could possibly be sure it was my grandmother's house.
Daniel explained that the electrical panel was a rare, outdated model specific to historic homes in that county.
He had explicitly warned my dad about it when the estate was first being appraised.
I looked down at the tablet again.
My father looked so fragile and broken on the screen.
I knew we had to call the police immediately and send them to the estate.
Daniel grabbed my hand and told me to wait a second.
He pulled out his own smartphone and opened a family tracking application.
Months ago, my dad had asked Daniel to install it after he had a minor health scare.
Daniel pulled up the map and located my father's cell phone signal.
The blinking blue dot wasn't at my grandmother's house at all.
The signal was broadcasting from a luxury hotel located just two miles away from us.
I frowned, looking back and forth between the live video and the GPS map.
I asked Daniel why the video showed a basement if the phone was at a hotel.
Daniel said Vance must have confiscated my dad's phone and left it somewhere else to throw off the police.
We didn't have time to wait for the authorities to sort through the confusion.
We had less than ninety minutes to save my father's life.
I grabbed my coat, and Daniel locked the front door behind us.
We rushed to Daniel's truck, leaving the tablet on the kitchen counter.
I sent a quick text to our neighbor, asking her to come over and watch a sleeping Lily.
We sped out of the neighborhood, breaking every speed limit on the way to the estate.
The grandmother's house was located deep in the rural outskirts of the city.
The drive was dark, winding, and completely terrifying.
I couldn't stop thinking about Diane and how she had orchestrated this nightmare.
She was willing to let her husband be tortured just to cover up a financial crime.
We finally turned onto the long, unpaved driveway leading to the historic property.
The massive house loomed in the darkness, surrounded by tall pine trees.
Daniel cut the headlights and let the truck roll to a silent stop near the edge of the woods.
We quietly got out of the truck and crept toward the side of the house.
There were no cars in the driveway, and the main floor was entirely dark.
We found a small, dirty window leading down into the basement.
I dropped to my knees and wiped the grime away with my sleeve.
I peered through the glass, expecting to see my father tied to the chair and bleeding.
The basement was brightly lit, but the chair was completely empty.
May you like
Instead, my father was standing near a table, counting massive stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
Vance was standing right next to him, patting my dad on the back and laughing.
