Chapter 45 Hunting A Ghost

Chapter 45 Hunting A Ghost
My legs felt completely light. Edward held me tightly, his hands shaking as he led me back toward the porch. The warm afternoon sun did not feel warm anymore. The green hills looked lonely, and the quiet farm felt like a prison.

"Serena, look at me," Edward said. He placed his hands on my face. "I will not let her touch you. I will not let her near Arthur. I swear it."
"But how, Edward?" I asked. "We watched the house burn. Mark said the roof collapsed. How could she escape a burning building, get to the Bahamas, and steal five million dollars in one month?"

"She had a plan," Edward said. "She always had a backup plan. The fire was a plan to make us stop looking for her."

Mark joined us on the porch, his laptop open in his hands. "Sir, I just checked the flight logs for private ports near Oaktown and Berkelene from the night of the fire.

A medical helicopter left a private pad two miles from the Vance mansion about thirty minutes after the fire started. It was cleared for a private yacht near the coast."

"She had it all ready," I whispered, the realization hitting me like a physical blow. "She knew we had the USB drive. She knew the police were coming. She burned the house to fake her death so she could slip away with the money."

"But she didn't get all of it," Edward said. She thinks she can rebuild her life with that five million."

"We cannot let her," I said. I stood up, ignoring the sudden ache in my stomach. The dizziness was gone, replaced by a sudden rush of anger. I looked at the kitchen window, where I could see Sarah rocking Arthur to sleep. "I signed a contract to be your wife because I wanted security, Edward. I wanted a life where my child would never want for anything. Instead, your mother has hunted us like animals. I am done being afraid. We need to go to the Bahamas."

Edward turned to me. "No, Serena. It is too dangerous. I will go with Mark. You stay here with Arthur where it is safe."

"Safe?" I laughed. "Nowhere is safe if she is alive. If you leave me here, I will just sit by the window waiting for her men to break through the door again. If she knows we are alive, she will come back for Arthur. I am not letting you out of my sight, and I am not leaving my son behind."

Edward looked at Mark, then back at me. He saw the determination in my eyes.
"Mark, prepare the private jet," Edward ordered. "And double the security convoy for the trip to the airport. We leave in two hours."

The packing was done in a rush of silence. Sarah was terrified when we told her we were moving again, but she refused to leave Arthur’s side. We packed only the essentials for the baby. 

Edward loaded our suitcases into the trunk of the SUV. By the time we boarded the plane, the sky was completely dark. Arthur was asleep in his travel bassinet, completely unaware that we were flying across the ocean to hunt a ghost.

I sat across from Edward, watching him stare at a map on his tablet. Mark was typing rapidly next to him.
"The bank terminal she used is in Nassau," Mark explained, pointing at a red dot on the digital screen. "It is a private wealth branch. To withdraw that much cash, she had to physically enter the secure room. The manager there is old family friends with the Vances. He probably didn't even check the news to see if she was supposed to be dead."

"Can we freeze the transaction?" I asked.
"No," Edward replied. "The money is already moved into an untrackable offshore account. But the bank manager told Miller that the client requested a private car to a villa on the northern shore of the island. She is staying there tonight."
"Does she know we are coming?" I asked, looking out the dark window at the clouds below.
"She has no idea," Edward said. "She thinks the police are still digging through the ashes of the library looking for her bones. She thinks she won."

"Then we use that," I said, leaning forward. "She thinks you are weak because you love us. Let’s show her how strong that makes you."

We landed in the Bahamas in the middle of the night. The air that hit us when the cabin door opened was hot, sticky, and thick with the smell of the sea. It reminded me instantly of the beach house, and a small shiver ran down my spine.

We didn't stay at a hotel. Mark had arranged a secure rental house near the docks, far away from the tourist areas. Two local security guards met us at the airstrip, their faces serious as they escorted our rental vans down the dark island roads.

When we arrived at the safe house, Sarah immediately took Arthur to the bedroom to set up his bassinet. Edward and Mark stayed in the living room, spreading out a blueprint of the northern shore villa.

"The villa belongs to a shell company Lily owns," Mark said, tracing a line along the property map. "It has high walls, but it only has three regular guards on duty right now. 

"We go in tonight," Edward said. "Before she realizes the bank manager talked to the police."
"I am coming with you," I said, walking into the room.
Edward stood up immediately. "Serena, absolutely not. This is a tactical raid. You have to stay with the baby."

"Mark’s local guards and Sarah can watch the baby," I insisted, stepping closer to him. "Lily wants to see you break, Edward. If she sees me alive, standing next to you, she will know she failed completely. I need to look her in the eye when this ends."

Edward held my shoulders, his eyes searching mine. "If anything happens to you—"
"Nothing will happen," I interrupted. "Because we are going to finish this together. For our family."

Edward finally gave in to my demand of going with them.

We left the safe house twenty minutes later, leaving Sarah and Arthur under the protection of four heavily armed guards. The drive to the northern shore was quiet. The only sound was the wheels against the pavement.

As we approached the villa, I could see the tall stone walls and the palm trees swaying in the night breeze. The ocean was visible just beyond the property, its waves crashing.

Mark stopped the car a block away. We got out silently, moving through the shadows toward the back gate. The air was warm, but my skin felt like ice.

We were standing at the edge of the final battle. Lily Vance thought she had escaped the fire, but we were about to bring the heat right to her door.