Chapter 20
Bear tore the basement door from its hinges.
Smoke blinded us.
I heard Emily coughing near the far wall.
A burning beam had trapped her.
Bear lifted it long enough for me to pull her free.
Richard appeared through the smoke holding Peter’s confession.
“Let her burn, Maggie.”
Emily stared at her father.
“You tried to kill me.”
Richard’s face showed no shame.
“You chose your mother.”
“She chose the truth.”
Bear moved toward him.
Richard escaped into the storm tunnel.
Luis and federal agents surrounded the exit outside.
Richard was arrested before he reached the woods.
This time, the entire capture streamed from multiple cameras.
No official could quietly release him.
The fire destroyed most of the basement, but Peter’s tape had already been copied.
Richard faced murder, fraud, kidnapping, conspiracy, and attempted murder charges.
Daniel remained missing.
At Richard’s first hearing, he requested to speak privately with me.
I refused until he mentioned Sophie.
“She isn’t Daniel’s daughter,” he said through the courtroom glass.
I nearly stopped breathing.
Richard claimed Daniel had forged a paternity test years earlier.
Emily heard him and demanded answers.
Richard smiled.
“Daniel married you because he believed Sophie made him an heir. When he learned the truth, he began planning your deaths.”
Emily gripped the table.
“Who is her father?”
Richard leaned closer.
“Ask Bear.”
Every eye turned toward my son.
Bear looked genuinely stunned.
Then Daniel appeared on the courthouse security feed.
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He was inside the building, disguised as a deputy.
And he was heading toward Sophie’s waiting room.
