Chapter 16 - The Cabin in Flames
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"Agent Chen! Trace that call!" Logan shouted, already sprinting toward the front door.
"The south timber cabin!" I cried, trying to follow him. "Ethan’s father’s old cabin!"
"Clara, stay here with the federal guards!" Thomas urged, holding my arm gently.
"No!" I shouted, pulling away. "My father kept his old company records in that cabin! If there’s a timer, she set a fire to destroy the evidence!"
Logan, Sam, and two armed FBI agents sprinted down the wooded trail toward the south property line, with me following right behind them.
As we rounded the final bend in the trail, thick black smoke was already billowing into the gray afternoon sky.
The small wooden cabin was engulfed in flames.
"Back up!" an FBI agent shouted, holding his arm out. "The structure is unstable!"
BOOM!
A small explosion rocked the front porch as propane tanks stored beside the cabin ignited, blowing out the front windows in a shower of sparks and shattered glass.
Through the roaring flames, Logan spotted a dark leather briefcase sitting on the stone well cap thirty feet away from the burning cabin—placed there intentionally in plain sight.
Logan ran forward, dodging falling embers, and grabbed the briefcase before retreating back to safety.
"What is that?" I panted, coughing from the smoke.
Logan popped the brass latches open.
Inside was a hard drive, a stack of original land deeds, and a sealed handwritten letter addressed to me in Ethan’s handwriting, dated the day before his death.
Ethan had hidden a second copy of his evidence outside the main house, knowing Denise might try to destroy the home.
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Beside the letter lay a small GPS tracking device blinking with a steady green light.
"It’s linked to Denise's car," Logan realized, looking at the screen. "Ethan hid a tracker on Denise's vehicle weeks ago!"
