Chapter 10 - The SUV at the Ravine
Lorraine reached the SUV before the deputies could stop her.
She threw the duffel inside and started the engine.
Snow sprayed from the tires.
Hayes shouted for her to stop.
She accelerated toward the forest road.
The storm had buried the edge of the trail.
Lorraine could barely see the ravine.
Megan knew the road from old training exercises.
“There’s a washout ahead,” she gasped.
A deputy radioed another unit.
The SUV disappeared behind blowing snow.
No one chased recklessly.
The road was too dangerous.
Instead, Hayes directed a snowmobile team to the lower access point.
Megan collapsed against Rex.
The dog pressed his body beneath her arm.
Hayes removed his jacket and wrapped it around her.
“What happened?”
“My husband tried to stage an exposure death.”
Hayes looked toward Ethan.
A deputy held him several yards away.
Ethan shouted, “She attacked us! That dog almost killed me!”
Megan pointed toward the snow.
“His body camera.”
Tom found it beneath a thin layer of powder.
The device was damaged but intact.
Hayes looked at Megan.
“Your upload reached military legal before I left home.”
Relief passed through her for half a second.
Then she remembered Lorraine.
“The black duffel contains original records.”
“We’ll find it.”
A crash echoed from down the road.
Metal against wood.
Then silence.
The lower team reached Lorraine’s SUV minutes later.
It had slid into a snowbank before the ravine.
The front bumper struck a small pine.
Lorraine was uninjured.
The doors were locked.
She refused to exit.
The duffel sat on the passenger seat.
A deputy spoke through the glass.
Lorraine shouted that the bag belonged to her.
Then she began tearing papers.
The deputy activated a body camera.
Another officer approached from the opposite side.
Lorraine tried to reverse.
The tires spun uselessly.
The SUV sank deeper into the snow.
Finally, she opened the door.
She stepped out still clutching half a forged document.
No arrest was shown to Megan.
Only the radio confirmation:
Subject secured. Evidence preserved.
Megan closed her eyes.
Rex rested his head against her chest.
For the first time since the house, she allowed herself to shake.
Hayes knelt beside her.
“You’re safe.”
Megan looked toward Ethan.
“Not until I know why.”
The money explained part of it.
The insurance explained more.
But Lorraine’s hatred had begun before Megan’s injury.
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And Martin Vale, the mysterious adviser, was still missing.
👉 Lorraine’s duffel contained the forged policies—but a photograph hidden beneath them showed Ethan meeting someone Megan knew from the Army.
