I bought my dream lake house to recover in peace, but my brother arrived with a moving truck and found police waiting on my porch.

Monday morning arrived gray and heavy.

The sky was the color of bruised steel.

The lake was choppy, whitecaps dancing across the surface.

I got up early.

I showered.

I got dressed in clothes that made me feel strong—jeans, boots, a fitted sweater.

I put on the wire.

Small, light, tucked into the neckline of my sweater where it couldn’t be seen.

The panic button went around my neck, hidden beneath my clothes.

I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

My eyes were tired.

But they were steady.

I went downstairs and made coffee.

At 9:17, I saw the black SUV coming up the driveway.

Voss was right on time.

He was alone this time.

No spider.

No other men.

Just him.

I watched through the kitchen window as he parked and got out.

He was wearing a dark coat, his hands in his pockets.

He looked up at the house, and for a moment, our eyes met through the glass.

He smiled.

A cold, humorless smile.

I walked to the front door and unlocked it.

I opened it before he could knock.

“Ms. Bennett,” he said.

“Mr. Voss,” I replied.

“May I come in?”

I stepped aside.

He walked in, his eyes scanning the room, taking in everything.

“Nice place,” he said. “Shame if something happened to it.”

He sat down on my couch, making himself comfortable.

I remained standing.

“Where’s my money, Ms. Bennett?” he said.

“I don’t have your money,” I said. “And I’m not giving you my house.”

Voss’s smile faded.

“That’s unfortunate,” he said. “Because I gave you until today. And I’m a man who keeps his word.”

He leaned forward.

“Your brother promised me this house as collateral. Your father confirmed it. I have it in writing. Now, I can do this the easy way, or I can do it the hard way.”

“The easy way?” I said.

“You sign over the deed,” he said. “I take possession. We all walk away happy. No one gets hurt.”

“And the hard way?”

Voss’s eyes went cold.

“The hard way is I take what I’m owed. And since your brother can’t pay, I take his collateral. His children. I’m sure I can find a use for them. Or at least, their organs.”

My blood ran cold.

But I kept my face neutral.

The wire was recording.

The cameras were rolling.

The police were watching.

“You’re threatening to kidnap and harm children,” I said.

“Not threatening,” Voss said. “Promising. I’m a very serious man, Ms. Bennett. When I say I’ll do something, I do it. So let me ask you one more time. Where’s my money?”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out Mom’s letter.

I slid a copy across the coffee table to him.

“Read it,” I said.

Voss picked it up, his eyes narrowing.

He read quickly.

When he finished, he looked up at me.

“Interesting,” he said. “But I don’t see what this has to do with me.”

“It has everything to do with you,” I said. “Because the man who blackmailed my mother? Richard Hale? He’s cooperating with the police. He’s giving them everything. Including proof that my father conspired with my brother to defraud me. To steal this house. Any agreement they made with you is based on fraud. It’s worthless.”

Voss stood up.

“Is that supposed to scare me?” he said. “I don’t care about your family’s little secrets. I care about my two hundred thousand dollars. And I’m going to get it. One way or another.”

He took a step toward me.

“I could take it from you right now,” he said. “No one would know. Just you and me. And that lake. People drown in lakes all the time, Ms. Bennett. Accidents happen.”

I didn’t back away.

I reached into my sweater and grabbed the panic button.

I pressed it.

Voss saw the movement.

His eyes widened.

He lunged.

But before he could reach me, the front door burst open.

“Police!”

Officers poured into the house, guns drawn.

Voss froze, his hands halfway to me.

“Marcus Voss,” Officer Daniels said. “You’re under arrest for extortion, criminal threats, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. You have the right to remain silent.”

They cuffed him.

Voss looked at me, his face twisted with rage.

“You set me up,” he said.

I stared back at him, no fear left.

“Yes,” I said. “I did.”

They led him out.

Officer Daniels came over to me.

“You okay?” he said.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Did you get it all?”

“Every word,” he said. “He’s going away for a long time.”

I nodded.

It was over.

Or at least, part of it was.

I walked outside.

The police were processing Voss’s SUV.

And standing at the edge of my driveway, watching everything, were Ryan and Dad.

They’d seen Voss get arrested.

They knew.

Dad’s face was ashen.

Ryan looked like he might throw up.

I walked toward them.

The police officers let me pass.

“Claire,” Dad said, his voice cracking. “What have you done?”

“What needed to be done,” I said.

Ryan stepped forward. “You ruined everything. Voss was our only way out. Now those men—”

“Those men are going to prison,” I said. “And so are you.”

I looked at Dad.

“I know everything,” I said. “The accident. The blackmail. What you did to Mom. What you did to me. Hale confessed. The police have his statement. They have Mom’s letter. They have everything.”

Dad’s legs gave out.

He collapsed onto the gravel of the driveway.

“No,” he whispered. “No.”

“Robert Bennett,” Officer Daniels said, walking up behind me. “You’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit fraud, blackmail, and extortion.”

He cuffed Dad.

Dad didn’t resist.

He just sat there, staring at the ground, as they led him to a patrol car.

Ryan watched him go, then turned to me.

His eyes were wild.

“Claire,” he said. “Please. You don’t understand. Voss’s men—they’ll kill me. They’ll take the kids. Please.”

I looked at my brother.

The boy who’d once been my playmate.