Chapter 7 - THE TRUTH GROWS

I stared at the message until the words blurred together.

*Come to the cabin. Bring the money. Come alone.*

Only three people knew about the cabin.

Me.

Vanessa.

And the detective I had spoken to.

I had told no one else.

Which meant one of them was feeding information to Jason.

Vanessa was locked in a cell. She had no phone, no visitors, no way to contact anyone. That left only one possibility.

The detective.

I felt sick.

I grabbed my keys and drove straight to the detention center, breaking every speed limit to get there.

I demanded to see Vanessa immediately.

When she appeared, she looked at my face and stepped back, frightened.

“What’s happened? Is it Lila?”

“Did you call anyone?” I demanded. “Did you tell anyone about the cabin before I came to see you?”

“No! I swear! I told no one but you!”

“Then someone told Jason!” I showed her the message. “He knows I’m coming. He knows about the cabin. He’s waiting for me.”

Vanessa’s face drained of color.

“That’s impossible. Only you and I know.”

“And the detective I spoke to,” I said. “I told him exactly what you told me. And now Jason knows.”

Vanessa sat down hard on the bench, trembling.

“Detective Miller?”

“Yes.”

She went pale.

“Adrian… Jason paid him. Years ago. He’s been on Jason’s payroll for a long time. I didn’t say anything because I was afraid. If Miller is involved… everything we say, everything we do… Jason hears it all.”

The room seemed to tilt.

The man I had trusted to protect me—the man investigating the case—was working for the very man we were hunting.

“Everything?” I asked quietly.

“Everything. He’s the reason Jason has stayed free all these years. He’s the reason nothing sticks. He protects him.”

I stood there, mind reeling.

This was far bigger than I had imagined.

This wasn’t just one desperate man.

This was a web. A web of lies, corruption, and betrayal that stretched all the way into the police department itself.

And I had walked right into the center of it.

“Adrian…” Vanessa reached through the glass, voice trembling. “You can’t go to the cabin. If Miller told Jason you’re coming… it’s a trap. They’re waiting for you. They’ll kill you.”

“And leave Lila there with them?” I asked. “No. I’m not leaving her.”

“Then let me talk to someone else. Another officer. Someone Miller doesn’t control.”

“It will take too long,” I said. “And if Lila is there… every minute counts.”

I turned toward the door, then paused and looked back at her.

“Vanessa… did you know Miller was on his payroll when you left Noah at the gas station?”

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She hesitated. Just for a second.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I knew. And I thought… if anything happened… Miller would make sure it went easy on me. That we could work something out. But I didn’t know the video existed. I didn’t know the gas station cameras had captured everything. Once that footage was shown… even Miller couldn’t make it disappear entirely. That’s why Jason is scared. That’s why he wants you silenced.”