The dock was packed with peopleing and going, most of them workers hauling crates and cargo. Everything looked perfectly normal. Nathaniel breathed a quiet sigh of relief and hurried toward Warehouse 3.


    The heavy doors were locked tight. He stopped in front of them, dug a rusty key out of his pocket, and slid it into the lock. He turned it carefully. The lock clicked open. He slipped inside, shutting the door behind him as quickly as he could.


    Inside, the warehouse was pitch ck and thick with the smell of damp and mold. Nathaniel moved with practiced ease, feeling his way along the wall until his fingers found a hidden switch. He pressed it. A dim light buzzed to life, throwing shadows across the chaos of stacked crates and junk.


    He didn''t hesitate. He went straight to a big wooden crate tucked away at the very back, crouched down, and lifted the lid. There were no old tools or scraps inside, just a single ck iron box. Nathaniel''s eyes lit up, a rush of excitement blooming across his face. His hands shook as he pulled the box out. It was heavy, solid. Inside were all the records from his illegal organ deals with Bailey, plus his secret ounts and a list of every contact he''d ever trusted. With this, he could build everything back again.


    He could already picture it, theeback he''d always dreamed of. But just as he reached to open the box, the warehouse doors crashed open. Blinding light spilled in. Boots pounded on the concrete. Someone shouted, and suddenly the ce was full of cops, guns pointed right at him.


    "Don''t move! Police!"


    Nathaniel froze, the color draining from his face. The iron box slipped from his grip and hit the floor with a loud ng. He tried to bolt, but hands grabbed him from every direction, pinning him down. In the chaos, cold handcuffs snapped around his wrists.


    All the fight left him at once. He slumped to the floor, eyes nk, mumbling, "No way... how could you possibly know..."


    Frank stepped forward, looking down at him with icy eyes. "Nathaniel, you''re under arrest for illegal organ trafficking, assault, prison escape, and more. You''reing with us."


    The officers dragged Nathaniel to his feet and marched him out of the warehouse. The humiliation burned. He knew it was over. For him, there was noing back.


    ***


    Back at Bridger Lake, Sofia woke up, blissfully unaware of the disaster in Brookfield. All she could think about was waiting for Nathaniel toe back. Once he did, she''d return to the Meyer family. Whatever Bank that of fer, hea have no choice but to lean on her if he wanted to restore the family''s name.


    With that in mind, she reached under her pillow, grabbed her phone, and


    I Hank. The gall rang and rang before he finally picked up. His voice was t and tired.  fo


    "What is it?"


    Sofia switched to her most worried tone. “Hank, I''ve been calling Dad, but he won''t answer. Is something wrong?"


    Hank hadn''t told her about Bailey''s death, so she had to act clueless. He was still tangled up at the hospital handling everything that came after Barley''s passing, exhausted and at his limit. Hearing Sofia just made things worse.


    "Dad''s gone."


    “Gone?” Sofia let out a gasp, her voice rising and trembling with an exaggerated sadness.