Chapter 7 - The Philadelphia Lie
Vance caught up to me while I was still picking bits of gravel out of my torn palms. She had her Glock drawn, scanning the empty ramp before holstering it with a venomous curse.
"You're out of your mind," she panted, grabbing my jacket to yank me to my feet. "You almost got yourself smeared across the deck. Who was that?"
"Luke Collins," I choked out, leaning against the cold concrete pillar to catch my breath.
Vance frowned, pulling a small notepad from her coat. "Sarah's brother? He's dead. He drowned in a shipping barge incident in 2022. Body was identified by dental records."
"Then someone gave the coroner the wrong teeth," I spat, wiping sweat and road grime from my forehead. "I know Luke’s face. I spent seven Thanksgivings sitting across a table from him. That was him behind the wheel."
"Why would Sarah's dead brother be driving an Apex van and stalking your daughter at the hospital?"
"Because of the money," I realized suddenly, the pieces beginning to slam together in my head. "The life insurance settlement from his death. Two million dollars. Sarah was the sole beneficiary."
"And what did she do with the payout?"
"She didn't take it," I said. "She told me she couldn't touch it because it felt like blood money. She signed the trust over to Jason right after they got married so he could invest it in commercial property."
Vance’s face darkened. "Property like an abandoned refrigeration warehouse off Highway 9?"
"Exactly like that."
My cell phone buzzed in my pocket. It was an unlisted number with a local area code.
Vance saw it immediately. "Put it on speaker. Don't speak unless I tell you to."
I swiped the screen with a trembling thumb and held the phone out between us.
"Mark?"
It wasn't Luke. It was Sarah.
Her voice was ragged, muffled by the sound of rushing wind and road noise.
"Sarah? Where are you?" I demanded.
"Mark, don't trust them," she gasped, her voice trembling with sheer terror. "Whatever Jason told you, it's a lie. He didn't put Emily in that cage to punish her. He was hiding her. They're coming to the hospital right now."
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The line went dead with a burst of static.
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