Chapter 17 - VANESSA'S LAST MOVE
Vanessa had not escaped by accident.
A transport vehicle had been struck at an intersection.
The driver of the other vehicle fled.
Vanessa disappeared during the confusion.
Police believed someone had helped her.
Sarah was moved to a secure hotel.
Daniel refused to leave.
“You're still legally married to her.”
Sarah reminded him.
Daniel gave her a cold look.
“Thank you for that nightmare.”
Despite everything, Sarah almost laughed.
It was the first time either of them had smiled in days.
Then the lights flickered.
Sarah's smile vanished.
Daniel noticed.
“Generator test.”
She nodded.
But both remembered the wedding.
Eleven seconds in darkness.
That night, Daniel slept on the couch near the hotel door.
Sarah didn't sleep at all.
At 3:12 a.m., her phone buzzed.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
YOU TOOK NINETEEN YEARS FROM ME.
Sarah stared at it.
Another message arrived.
NOW I'M TAKING ONE NIGHT FROM YOU.
Sarah woke Daniel.
Police traced the number.
It had been activated near Sarah's old apartment.
Vanessa wanted them to go there.
Reed ordered everyone to stay put.
Sarah disagreed.
“She wants something.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
Sarah remembered the ransacked apartment.
Michael's files had survived.
But one object had disappeared.
A framed photograph of Sarah and her father.
At the time, she thought the intruder had knocked it over.
Now she realized the empty frame had never been found.
Vanessa had taken it.
Sarah whispered, “She wants me to know she remembers him.”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“This is personal now.”
“It was always personal.”
Before dawn, police received another message.
A photograph of Thomas Avery's old house.
Sarah hadn't visited it in nearly two decades.
Vanessa stood on the front porch.
COME HOME, SARAH.
Daniel immediately said, “No.”
Sarah looked at him.
“She'll keep running.”
“Let the police catch her.”
“She has been escaping people for twenty years.”
Daniel understood what Sarah was considering.
“You are not bait.”
“No.”
Sarah stood.
“But I may be the only person she wants badly enough to stop for.”
Reed hated the plan.
But after consultation with federal agents, they created a controlled operation.
Sarah would enter the house wearing a hidden transmitter.
Officers would surround the property.
Daniel stayed in the command vehicle.
He argued until Reed threatened to handcuff him.
Sarah entered the house alone.
The old living room smelled of dust.
Vanessa sat at the dining table.
Sarah's childhood photograph rested in front of her.
“You came.”
Sarah remained near the door.
“You knew I would.”
Vanessa smiled.
“You still want to know how your father died.”
Sarah's heartbeat thundered.
“Yes.”
Vanessa leaned back.
“Then sit down.”
Sarah sat.
Vanessa pushed the photograph toward her.
“Thomas discovered who I was.”
“He planned to expose Arthur.”
“He told me he was going to the police.”
Sarah kept her voice steady.
“What happened?”
Vanessa looked almost nostalgic.
“Arthur told me to solve the problem.”
Outside, agents listened.
Sarah asked the final question.
“How?”
Vanessa smiled.
“Your father trusted me enough to accept anything I gave him.”
Sarah felt her eyes burn.
“You killed him.”
Vanessa's smile faded.
“I followed instructions.”
That was the confession.
Reed gave the signal.
Agents moved.
Vanessa heard something.
Her eyes snapped toward the window.
“You brought them.”
Sarah stood.
Vanessa pulled a knife from beneath the table.
“You always ruin everything.”
Sarah backed away.
The front door crashed open.
May you like
Vanessa lunged.
And Daniel, who had ignored every order Reed gave him, came through the side entrance at the same moment.
