“I called your chief twenty minutes ago.”

The officer nodded and pulled out a pair of metal handcuffs.

The sharp click of the cuffs locking around Vance’s wrists echoed in the quiet pantry.

“You’re making a massive mistake, Daniel,” Vance whispered, looking at me with cold fury.

“You have no idea what you’re destroying.”

“Take him out,” the officer said to his partner.

They led Vance out through the kitchen door.

The red and blue lights painted his face in alternating colors as he walked down the steps.

I watched him go, feeling a heavy weight lift from my chest.

But the silence that followed was thick and heavy.

Ruth let out a long breath and sank into a kitchen chair.

“It is over,” she whispered.

“Not yet,” I said.

My phone was still in my hand.

I tapped the screen to call Dr. Shah back.

The phone rang twice before he answered.

“Daniel,” Dr. Shah said.

“I am glad you called back.”

“How is Claire?” I asked.

“She is conscious,” he said.

“But her blood pressure is still very low.”