Chapter 12 - THE BETRAYAL INSIDE THE FAMILY
Everyone suspected Ryan's mother.
I didn't.
Evelyn had lied about many things, but she loved Caleb.
The person feeding information had access to our family schedule.
Our movements.
The camp dates.
The helicopter manifest.
Then Michelle found the connection.
It was Ryan's brother, Daniel.
He had been secretly working with the company executive.
When confronted, Daniel denied everything.
Until the investigators showed him the evidence.
He broke.
“I didn't know they would hurt them.”
“You gave them the camp information.”
“I thought they wanted Brooke.”
“You knew Caleb was there.”
“I didn't know!”
His excuses sounded pathetic.
But then he revealed something even worse.
The wildfire had been deliberately redirected.
Not started.
Redirected.
Someone had sabotaged firebreak equipment to push the flames toward the camp.
The goal was never to kill everyone.
It was to create chaos.
To force Ryan to move Brooke.
And to obtain the recording.
Daniel said:
“They told me Ryan would understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That he had to choose.”
I stared at him.
“Who told you?”
He gave us a name.
The company executive.
But before investigators could arrest him, he disappeared.
And so did Brooke.
Ryan received a final message.
COME ALONE.
He looked at me.
“I have to go.”
“No.”
“Natalie—”
“You've spent eleven years making decisions alone.”
He stared at me.
“This time, you're not.”
We followed.
And when we arrived at the abandoned airfield, Brooke was standing beside a helicopter.
May you like
The executive was behind her.
And he was holding a gun.
