He looked exhausted, but his shoulders were relaxed.

“We got him,” Miller said.

I stood up slowly, not wanting to wake the boys, who had fallen asleep on the small couch.

“Where?” I asked.

“He tried to double back to his cabin to get his truck keys,” the detective said.

“Our canine unit was waiting.”

“He didn’t put up a fight.”

“He’s in a maximum-security holding cell in the city now.”

I let out a long, slow breath that I felt like I had been holding for years.

“Thank you, Detective,” I said.

“He won’t be getting out, Mr. Whitmore,” Miller said.

“The kidnapping charges alone will carry decades.”

He tipped his hat to Claire and closed the door.

I walked over to the window and looked out at the wet streets below.

The headlights of the passing cars smeared against the wet asphalt.

For five years, I had run my company with ruthless efficiency.

I had chased mergers, acquisition deals, and profit margins.

I had thought that building an empire was the only way to secure my sons’ future.