Chapter 5 - The Unlikely Ally
I ran through the crowded city streets until I reached the abandoned pier.
The salty air whipped my hair across my face as I scanned the empty docks.
A tall figure stepped out from the shadows of a broken boathouse.
It was the funeral director who had handed me the letter earlier that afternoon.
"My name is Elias," he said while keeping his hands visible to show he was unarmed.
"I am not just a funeral director; your mother hired me as a private investigator six months ago."
I collapsed onto a wooden crate, finally letting out a long, exhausted breath.
"Why didn't she just tell me the truth about Ryan?" I asked, wiping a tear from my cheek.
"Because she knew Ryan was monitoring all of your phone calls and emails," Elias explained.
"If she had told you too soon, Ryan would have silenced her before we could gather enough evidence."
Elias pulled a thick, encrypted laptop from his leather messenger bag.
He opened it to reveal dozens of bank statements and wire transfers.
"Your mother secretly moved all of her liquid assets into a secure offshore account before she passed."
"Ryan and Ashley know the money is gone, but they need your thumbprint on a physical scanner to access it."
I looked at the screen and realized the sheer scale of the fortune my mother had protected.
"They will never stop hunting me," I said with a heavy sense of dread.
Elias closed the laptop and looked at me with a fierce determination in his eyes.
"That is why we are not going to run away, Claire."
"We are going to set a trap and let them walk right into federal custody."
Suddenly, the sound of screeching tires echoed from the street above the pier.
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Two black SUVs blocked the only exit, and armed men began pouring out of the vehicles.
"They tracked your phone," Elias shouted as he pulled a weapon from his jacket.
