Chapter 12
The next morning, Ryan made a decision. He couldn't fight a ghost. He needed answers, and there was only one person who had them. He drove to the high-security medical hospice located two hours outside the city. The building looked more like a prison than a hospital. Barbed wire topped the fences. Guards checked his identification three times before letting him inside. Victoria was in a private room. When Ryan walked in, he barely recognized the woman sitting in the wheelchair. She had lost weight. Her hair, once perfectly styled, was thin and gray. The illness had ravaged her body, but when she looked up, her eyes were exactly the same. Sharp. Calculating. Unapologetic. "Ryan," she said, her voice raspy. "I didn't think you would actually come." Ryan pulled up a chair and sat across from her. "Call him off, Victoria." Victoria smiled weakly. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." "Arthur." "He's terrorizing my family." "He's approaching the children." "Tell him to stop." Victoria coughed, a harsh, rattling sound. "I can't." "You can," Ryan insisted. "You've controlled him his entire life." "You hid him." "You funded him." "Now, tell him to walk away." Victoria leaned back against her pillows. "You always overestimated my power, Ryan." "I controlled him with money." "I don't have money anymore." "I controlled him with promises." "I don't have a future to promise him anymore." "He's off the leash." "And he's very, very angry." Ryan leaned forward, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "If he touches them..." "If he even lays one finger on those kids..." "...I will end him." Victoria laughed softly. It sounded like grinding glass. "Oh, Ryan." "You still think you're the hero of this story." "Arthur doesn't care if he dies." "He only cares about making you suffer." "He blames you for my condition." "He thinks if you had just stayed loyal, none of this would have happened." "He's delusional," Ryan said flatly. "Perhaps," Victoria agreed. "But delusional men are the most dangerous." "They don't fear consequences." She looked out the small barred window. "I sent you the letter because I wanted you to know." "I wanted you to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life." "I wanted you to feel the fear I felt when the judge read my sentence." Ryan stood up. He had heard enough. "You're a miserable, broken woman, Victoria." "You're going to die alone in this room." "And no one is going to mourn you." Victoria's smile faded slightly, but she didn't look away. "Goodbye, Ryan." "Give my love to the twins." Ryan walked out of the room without looking back. He felt sick to his stomach. He realized now that Victoria hadn't sent the warning to save the children. She had sent it to maximize the psychological torture. She wanted the anticipation to destroy them before Arthur even struck. As he drove back home, the sky began to darken. Thick gray clouds rolled in from the west. A storm was coming. The radio predicted heavy rain and high winds. Ryan pressed his foot down on the gas pedal. He needed to get back. He needed to secure the house. Because tonight, under the cover of the storm, he knew Arthur would finally make his move.
