Delaney felt the chill crawl back into her spine. “Which means someone else is still pulling strings.”
“Exactly,” Isla agreed.
Delaney kept her eyes on the drone feed, watching as the van kicked up a steady trail of dust along the narrow farm road. Trees thickened on both sides, shadowing the path. Her gut twisted. Every second that van stayed in motion was a second closer to Ava disappearing into the dark.
“And that brings me to other things you should know,” Isla went on. “I ran backgrounds on all the players, like Noah asked. Grant Maddox has some flags. He’s from old money. Legacy family out of Virginia. But the trust is bleeding cash. Lawsuits. Failed business ventures. His accounts are almost upside down.”
Delaney glanced at Eli, who stayed focused on the road but clearly heard every word.
“So he attaches himself to Vivian,” Delaney said.
“Exactly,” Isla replied. “She’s got real wealth. Inherited from her tech-entrepreneur ex-husband.Liquid assets, real estate, multiple business holdings. But here’s the thing. Her daughters are in the way.”
Eli’s brow furrowed. “How?”
“Vivian’s estate plan has Olivia and Ava as primary beneficiaries. Everything is set up in a trust. If anything happens to the girls or they’re declared legally incompetent, the terms shift. And Grant could get control if he’s married to Vivian. FYI, their wedding is next month.”
Delaney stared at the phone. “So the girls disappear, or get institutionalized, he could walk away with a fortune.”
“Not saying he’s behind any of this,” Isla added. “But the motive’s there. And it’s ugly.”
Delaney felt the pressure build in her chest.
“I’ll send the financials and reports to Noah,” Isla added. “You’ll have them in the next few minutes.”
“Thanks, Isla,” Eli and Delaney said as he ended the call.
Delaney shifted her full attention back to the drone feed. The van was still moving, turning now onto an even narrower road that looked barely paved.
“Grant was pushing hard to see Olivia,” she muttered. “Almost like he needed to.”
“Or like he wanted to shut her up,” Eli added. “If he knew she escaped and might start talking…”
Delaney glanced over at him. “He wouldn’t risk it in a hospital full of law enforcement. Wouldhe?”
Eli shook his head slightly. “I don’t know. I didn’t get the vibe from Vivian that she’d stand by and let someone hurt her daughter. She looked genuinely shaken. Protective.”
“I agree,” Delaney said. “But emotions are messy. People overlook things when they want to believe the best about someone. Especially someone they’re planning to marry.”
Eli didn’t respond, but she could see the shift in his expression. They were on the same page.
“We need to look deeper into Grant,” she said. “If he’s desperate for money, he might have hired those three men. Maybe not directly, but through someone else. A broker. A fixer.”
Eli gave a tight nod. “We’ll get Isla to run everything. Phone records, financials, even property ties. If he’s connected to Radley or Trent, she’ll find it.”
Delaney adjusted the drone feed again, her fingers tightening on the phone as she tracked the van’s movement. It veered off the narrow farm road and onto a rugged dirt trail barely wide enough for a vehicle.
“There,” she pointed out. “They just turned onto a trail. No markers, no signs.”
The trees thickened quickly, hanging low over the trail like a canopy. The van slowed and then rolled beneath the cover of dense oak branches.
Delaney cursed under her breath as the drone feed flickered and then went black.
“Lost visual,” she said. “Too much overhead cover.”
“We’re close,” Eli assured her, not taking his eyes off the road. “Hang on.”
The SUV bounced over uneven terrain, the tires catching in ruts and kicking up dirt as Eli pushed them faster. Delaney braced herself with one hand against the door, the other gripping her phone as if it could somehow force the drone feedback online.
