Chapter 18: On the Run

POV: Maya Chen

The blast knocked me flat on my back.

Glass from my apartment window rained down on the street as orange flames shot into the night sky. I rolled behind a stopped car just as another blast shook the ground. My home was gone. Everything I owned was burning.

"Maya!" Jake grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "We have to go. Now!"

I couldn't stop looking at the fire. My detective files, my clothes, my sister's old photos – all of it was going to ash. But then I saw something that made my blood freeze.

Two guys in dark jackets were walking away from the building. One of them was putting a gas can in the trunk of a black SUV. They weren't firemen. They were Eleanor's men.

"Jake, they burned down my apartment on purpose," I whispered.

"I know. That's why we have to leave before they know you weren't inside."

We ran through the back streets, staying in the shadows. My heart was racing so hard I could barely think. Everything was happening too fast. This morning I was trying to solve Tommy's murder. Now I was running for my life.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we ducked behind a dumpster.

"My house in the woods. It's the only safe place I can think of."

We heard sirens getting closer. Fire trucks were speeding toward my burning building, but I knew they were too late. Eleanor had made sure of that.

Jake's house was twenty minutes outside of town. It was tiny and old, but it had thick walls and no neighbors. He locked the door behind us and pulled down all the window shades.

"Maya, I have to tell you something," he said. His face looked terrible in the dim light. "I think Eleanor is planning to frame you for Tommy's murder."

"What do you mean?" " I heard Rodriguez talking on his radio. He's going to search your apartment tomorrow morning. He expects to find proof. "

I felt sick. "What kind of evidence?"

"The kind that proves you killed Tommy. Blood on your clothes. Your fingerprints on the crime weapon. Maybe even a fake statement."

"But my place just burned down. How can they search it now?"

Jake looked even more nervous. "They'll say you started the fire to destroy proof. That makes you look even more guilty."

I sat down hard on his old couch. This was worse than I thought. Eleanor wasn't just trying to stop my research. She was trying to destroy my entire life.

"There's more," Jake said softly. "I think they're going to arrest you tomorrow morning. The newspaper is already writing the story. The TV news is going to film it."

"How do you know all this?"

"Because I've been watching Eleanor for months. I knew she was dirty, but I didn't know how deep it went. I was scared to move against her alone."

I looked at Jake's worried face and realized something important. He was risking everything to help me. His job, his life in this town, maybe even his life.

"Jake, why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?"

He sat down next to me. "Because you're trying to do the right thing. And because..." He paused. "Because I care about you, Maya. More than I should after knowing you for only a few days."

Before I could answer, his phone rang. The sound made us both jump.

"It's Dr. Martinez," Jake said, looking at the screen. "I told him to call if anything happened."

He answered the phone. "Sam? What's wrong?"

I could hear Dr. Martinez's voice, but he was talking too fast for me to understand. Jake's face went white.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked. "How long ago?"

When he hung up, his hands were shaking.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Riley's missing. Her adopted parents came home and found her bedroom window open. There are tire tracks in their yard."

My heart stopped. Riley was the key to everything. She had Tommy's proof. She knew about Eleanor's trafficking scheme. And now Eleanor had her.

"We have to find her," I said, jumping up.

"Maya, we can't. If we leave this cave, Eleanor's men will catch us. We'll be no help to Riley if we're dead."

"But she's just a kid! Eleanor will kill her to keep her quiet!"

Jake grabbed my shoulders. "Listen to me. Riley is smart. She's been hiding knowledge from Eleanor for weeks. She knows how to stay alive."

"You don't understand," I said, tears starting to fall. "Riley is my sister's kid. She's my only family left. I can't lose her too."

Jake stared at me. "Riley is your niece?"

"She told me yesterday. My sister gave her up for adoption sixteen years ago. I never knew she existed until I came to this town."

"Maya, there's something else you need to know about your sister."

"What?"

"The car crash that killed her wasn't an accident. I saw the police report. Someone cut her brake lines."

The room started spinning. My sister was killed. Riley was kidnapped. My place was burned. And everyone in town thought I was a killer. "Eleanor killed my sister because she was looking for Riley," I whispered.

"That's what I think too."

I wiped my eyes and stood up. "Then we're going to stop her. Tonight."

"Maya, that's suicide. Eleanor has half the police force working for her. She has armed men all over town. We can't fight her alone."

"We're not alone." I pulled out my phone. "Remember that text Eleanor got? Someone filmed her men planting proof in my apartment. Someone recorded them starting the fire."

"Who?"

"I don't know yet. But whoever it is, they're trying to help us."

I started typing a text message to the number that had warned Eleanor.

"This is Maya Chen. Eleanor has my niece. I need your help to save her. Can you meet us?"

I sent the message and waited. Jake was walking around the small cabin like a caged animal.

"This is crazy, Maya. We don't even know who that person is. What if it's a trap?"

My phone buzzed. New message.

"Meet me at the old lighthouse in one hour. Come alone. I have something to show you about your sister's death."

I showed Jake the message. His face went pale.

"Maya, you can't go. The tower is where Eleanor's men tried to kill us before."

"I have to go. This guy might be our only chance to save Riley."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"The message says come alone."

"I don't care what it says. I'm not letting you walk into another trap."

I looked at Jake's determined face and made a choice that might save us or get us both killed.

"Okay. We go together. But Jake, if this goes wrong..."

"It won't go wrong. We're going to save Riley and stop Eleanor. I promise."

As we prepared to leave the cabin, I thought if this mysterious person was really trying to help us, or if Eleanor had found a new way to destroy us.

Either way, we were about to find out.

Riley's life depends on it.