Chapter 7 – Sophie Bennett
Emma read the message three times.
Now ask him about Sophie Bennett. She isn't missing. Ryan knows exactly where she is.
A knot formed in her stomach.
Sophie Bennett.
The little girl the neighbor had mentioned.
The child who used to play in the front yard with her toys.
If Claire Bennett had disappeared after her husband's death, where had Sophie gone?
More importantly...
How could Ryan possibly know?
Emma looked at the time.
It was almost noon.
Noah would be at preschool for another three hours.
She had just enough time to find one more piece of the puzzle.
Instead of calling Ryan back, Emma drove to the county courthouse.
If Michael Bennett had worked as a forensic accountant, there had to be public records connected to his cases.
Inside the records office, an elderly clerk greeted her with a polite smile.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for information about Michael Bennett."
The clerk typed his name into the database.
"There are several files."
Emma's pulse quickened.
"May I see them?"
"Most of them are public."
Ten minutes later, she sat at a small wooden table with a stack of documents.
The first few pages were routine business filings.
Nothing unusual.
Then she found a court motion dated fourteen months earlier.
Michael Bennett appointed as financial expert in civil investigation involving Harbor Ridge Development Group.
Emma continued reading.
The case alleged that Harbor Ridge had created dozens of shell companies to move investor money through fake consulting contracts.
Exactly what Daniel's files had suggested.
But before the lawsuit reached trial...
The case had been voluntarily dismissed.
No explanation.
No settlement details.
Nothing.
Just closed.
Emma frowned.
Cases involving millions of dollars didn't simply disappear.
Someone had buried it.
As she returned the documents, the clerk hesitated.
"I remember that case."
Emma stopped.
"You do?"
The older man nodded.
"Michael Bennett came here several times."
"What was he like?"
"Honest."
The answer came without hesitation.
"He believed he was about to expose something very big."
Emma's heart skipped.
"What happened?"
The clerk lowered his voice.
"A week before he died, he looked terrified."
Emma leaned closer.
"He told me..."
The clerk paused, searching his memory.
"...if anything happened to him, someone should protect his little girl."
Emma felt a chill run down her spine.
"Sophie."
The clerk nodded slowly.
"That's her name."
Outside the courthouse, Emma's phone rang again.
Ryan.
This time she answered immediately.
"You said you never wanted Michael Bennett to die."
Ryan was silent.
"Talk to me."
"I can't."
"You owe me that much."
A tired sigh came through the speaker.
"I owe you far more than that."
Emma took a deep breath.
"Where is Sophie Bennett?"
Ryan didn't answer.
She asked again.
"Where is she?"
Finally, he spoke.
"Why are you asking about her?"
"So you do know."
Another silence.
When Ryan spoke again, his voice sounded defeated.
"I was supposed to protect her."
Emma's heart nearly stopped.
"What?"
"I wasn't part of this in the beginning."
His breathing became uneven.
"I only handled money."
"You stole from us."
"Yes."
"But Harbor Ridge..."
His voice cracked.
"...Harbor Ridge wasn't just stealing money."
Emma waited.
"They destroyed anyone who threatened them."
Emma remembered Daniel.
Michael.
The black SUV.
The anonymous warnings.
"Michael found evidence."
Ryan continued quietly.
"He copied everything."
"And then?"
"He realized they were watching him."
Emma barely whispered the next question.
"Did they kill him?"
Ryan didn't answer directly.
"They made it look like an accident."
Emma closed her eyes.
Just as Daniel's death had been called an accident.
"What about Claire?"
"I don't know where she is."
"And Sophie?"
Ryan hesitated.
"I know who's protecting her."
Emma's pulse raced.
"Who?"
"I can't tell you."
"Ryan."
"If I tell you..."
His voice dropped almost to a whisper.
"...they'll kill all of us."
The line suddenly filled with static.
Emma heard shouting in the background.
A loud crash.
Then Ryan yelled one sentence before the call ended.
"They found me!"
The phone went dead.
Emma immediately called back.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
Her own phone vibrated.
The anonymous number.
Don't call him anymore.
Emma typed furiously.
What happened?
The response arrived after nearly a minute.
He just made a choice.
Emma frowned.
What choice?
The next message appeared one word at a time.
He decided to stop running.
Before Emma could reply, another message arrived.
It contained an address.
No explanation.
Just a location on the outskirts of town.
Followed by one sentence.
Ryan is going there to confess everything. If Harbor Ridge gets there first, you'll never learn the truth.
Emma stared at the map.
Every instinct told her it was dangerous.
Every piece of common sense told her to stay away.
But Daniel Mercer was dead.
Michael Bennett was dead.
Claire Bennett had vanished.
Ryan had finally admitted that Harbor Ridge was connected to all of them.
If he truly intended to confess...
This might be her only chance to learn the whole truth.
Emma started the engine.
As she pulled onto the highway, she had no idea that someone else had received the exact same address.
Inside a black SUV parked less than a mile away, a woman in an expensive navy suit looked at the message on her phone, smiled faintly, and turned to the driver.
"He's finally ready to talk," she said.
"Don't let him reach the meeting."
The SUV's engine roared to life.
May you like
It accelerated onto the highway...
...directly behind Emma's car.
