Chapter 10 - THE TRAP INSIDE THE POLICE
At 6:30 the following morning, Elena contacted a federal investigator she'd known for years.
Special Agent Nora Bennett met us in a quiet conference room.
She was composed, direct, and completely unimpressed by Dominic Vale.
“I don't care how powerful your family thinks it is,” she told him. “If you want federal protection, you cooperate fully.”
Dominic leaned back.
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you'll face the consequences of your own choices without our assistance.”
I almost smiled.
It was the first time I'd seen someone speak to Dominic without fear.
Nora reviewed the evidence.
She confirmed that Victor Sloane had been under investigation for years.
But witnesses had disappeared.
Records had been altered.
And several attempts to bring charges had collapsed.
“Your brother may have found the connection we were missing,” she told me.
The words made my eyes sting.
Caleb reached for my hand.
This time, I let him hold it.
Nora arranged emergency protection while an independent team verified the records.
Then Elena received a message from an encrypted contact.
It contained a photograph.
A woman stood outside a medical rehabilitation facility in suburban Illinois.
Her hair was gray now.
She wore a dark green coat.
But I recognized her immediately.
Isabel Vale.
The photograph had been taken that morning.
Caleb stared at it.
His hands moved.
She's alive. She's really alive.
Nora examined the attached location details.
“Someone is telling us where to find her.”
“Is it safe?” I asked.
“Not yet,” Nora answered. “We need to verify the source.”
But Dominic was already standing.
“I'm going.”
“No,” Nora said firmly. “You're staying here.”
Dominic glared at her.
She didn't blink.
“Your wife needs protection, not an armed family reunion.”
An hour later, Nora's team confirmed that Isabel had been seen at the facility.
She was being moved under an assumed name.
A trusted federal unit was sent to secure the location.
We waited in silence.
Then Nora's phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression darkened.
“What do you mean she's gone?”
I stood.
“What happened?”
Nora listened for several seconds.
Then she ended the call.
“The transport team arrived to find the room empty.”
Caleb's hands began shaking.
Nora looked directly at Dominic.
“Only six people knew where she was.”
May you like
She paused.
“And someone informed Victor before my agents got there.”
