“My mother,” I said, a cold rage washing over me. “Margaret ordered this.”

“But why?” Sophia asked. “Why would a mother do that to her own daughter-in-law?”

“Because Emily found out about Caleb’s debts,” I said.

“And the Reed family couldn’t afford a scandal,” Sophia finished.

“Not with the offshore development deal pending,” I said.

A sharp bark echoed through the trees outside, closer this time.

Sophia froze, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.

The laptop screen showed a progress bar at forty percent.

“The dogs are on the ridge,” she whispered.

“How much longer?” I asked.

“Six minutes,” she said.

I went to the narrow window and pressed my face near the glass.

Rainwater ran down the panes in thick, distorted sheets.

Through the gray blur of the storm, I saw a flash of light.

A flashlight beam swept through the brush, illuminating the wet leaves fifty yards away.

“They’re coming down the gulley,” I said.

“We can’t leave yet,” she said. “If I abort the decryption now, the file will self-destruct.”

“I’ll secure the door,” I said.