1The day my father pulled back the blanket covering my pregnant body, the lies my husband and mother-in-law had buried for months died in a single heartbeat. They had convinced everyone I was weak, emotional, and struggling with pregnancy. They never imagined my father would uncover the bruises they forced me to hide—and they had no idea he wasn't just my father. He was a U.S. Army colonel.

Just after midnight, my personal cell phone—a number known only to my family—began to ring. The caller ID was a scrambled international string of digits. I answered it, putting it on speakerphone so my father could hear.

"Did you like the birthday gift, Emmy?"

Silas’s voice was exactly as I remembered it: smooth, arrogant, and laced with quiet cruelty.

"It was a bit dramatic, Silas," I replied, my voice completely devoid of emotion. "Leaving trash in my garden."

He chuckled softly.

"You always were brave. I’ll give you one chance. Bring the ledger to the old logging road at the edge of the county line in one hour. If you don't, I will burn your beautiful house to the ground with everyone inside."

"There's a problem with your plan," I said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"And what is that?"

"I just had my associate drain the Apex Logistics accounts. You can't pay your mercenaries anymore. They aren't going to fight for a ghost who has no money."

There was a long, heavy silence on the other end of the line.

"You are making a fatal mistake, Emmy."