Chapter 8
Ryder replayed the clip frame by frame.
The phone screen reflected in his eyes.
A hallway.
A door.
Allison entering first.
The unidentified figure following.
The angle did not show the face.
But it showed enough.
A hand on the doorframe.
A dark sleeve.
A ring catching faint light.
Ryder froze the image.
His throat tightened.
He knew that ring.
Or thought he did.
A family crest style.
Old.
Not common.
His father had worn one for years before he died.
Ryder had inherited it, but he kept it locked in a study drawer.
Unless—
He turned toward Allison.
“Where is my father’s ring?”
She blinked.
“What?”
“The signet ring from my study.”
“I don’t know.”
Jade looked down.
Margaret gripped the wheelchair armrest.
Ryder noticed both reactions.
“Mom?”
Margaret’s voice was barely audible.
“I saw it.”
“On who?”
Allison stepped forward.
“Don’t answer that.”
Ryder turned so sharply she stopped.
His controlled fury filled the kitchen more completely than shouting could have.
“You do not tell her what to say.”
Allison’s eyes watered now.
Fake or real, Ryder no longer cared.
Margaret’s lips trembled.
“I couldn’t see the face. But someone leaned close and said if I kept asking for you, I would disappear into care so deep even my son would stop looking.”
Jade closed her eyes.
Ryder stood very still.
The words did not identify the accomplice.
But they revealed intent.
Someone had used family knowledge.
Family objects.
Family fear.
Someone who knew what Ryder valued.
Someone who knew what Margaret feared.
Someone close enough to move through the mansion without triggering Allison’s alarm.
Ryder looked at the phone again.
At the ring.
At Allison.
May you like
Then toward the dark hallway beyond the kitchen.
Read the full story 👉 The unidentified figure wore something connected to Ryder’s family, making the abuse feel even more deliberate.
