Chapter 124

The helicopter touched down hard on the private clearing just outside the Bartholomew estate. The moment the skids hit the ground, he was already unbuckling, and already moving as his heart nervously pounded in his chest.

But silence greeted him.

The estate loomed in the distance like a mausoleum with lights on, but not a soul in sight. No guards. No voices. Just the wind and the heavy, unnatural stillness that made his boots sound too loud on the earth.

Then a figure burst from the trees. One of his men, the one who had called earlier, looked breathless, pale, eyes wide with panic as he ran straight to him.

“She went that way, sir.” the man panted, pointing toward the old bridge that arched out over the river’s bend. “She was bleeding. I tried to follow but—”

Keegan didn’t wait for more. His legs moved before thought could catch up.

He sprinted.

His coat snapped behind him like a flag in the wind as he tore down the narrow, muddy path carve