The full shape of it settled into clarity: Warren Aldridge had made a final calculation. The evidence Ryan held could destroy the legacy, foundation, and family name. Ryan, aging and legally trapped, unable to approach law enforcement without destroying himself, was precisely the kind of loose thread that he could now, finally, simply cut.
Ryan looked at the evidence bag. “I found Pruitt watching the cabin ten days ago. I knew then—the photograph had either reached you, or it hadn’t, but either way I was out of time.” He placed both hands flat on the table. Claire covered his hands with hers.