I tapped the screen, waiting for the low-resolution picture to load in the weak cellular signal.

My heart stopped as the image slowly filled the screen.

It was a photograph of a room I had never seen before.

A room with no windows, a single metal chair, and a medical monitor blinking in the corner.

On the wall behind the chair was a calendar.

The year on the calendar was current.

The month was this month.

Underneath the photo, a single line of text appeared.

“She’s still waiting.”

I looked up, staring through the windshield at the dark, winding road ahead.

The chase was far from over.

The headlights of Ana’s car cut through the Sonoma mist as we tore out of the driveway, chasing the red tail lights into the dark.

The tires screamed on the wet asphalt as we hit the main highway.

Behind us, the ranch faded into the shadows, a monument to a legacy that was finally beginning to crumble.

But the truth was still waiting in the dark.

And I had to find it before Vale destroyed it.