Page 93 of Ryder’s Storm

“Not just Derek,” Thomas said and turned his monitor so that Ryder and Scarlet could see it too. On the screen were two photos. Derek sported a goatee, and his hair was blond. Claudia was almost unrecognizable. She had long, straight, red hair in the photo instead of blond curls, and her eyes were brown not gray.

“Meet Claudia and Derek Ditmore. They’re married,” Thomas continued.

Scarlet gasped.

“There’s more. They’re wanted in Canada as well as in Texas for fraud. They’re running long cons. Once they identify a mark, they get to work. If it’s a rich woman, Derek will romance her, and get her to marry him, then skim as much money from the victim as possible, before disappearing. And in the case of older rich men, Claudia will use her charms to seduce the guy, then fleece him. Their con in Canada went so far as to set up an accident so Claudia would inherit her victim’s money, but the guy she was conning was a lucky bastard. He survived the attempt on his life, and contacted the police. But by then, Claudia and Derek had already fled the country with false passports.”

“Shit!” Scarlet cursed. “Dad’s fall in the bathroom! It wasn’t an accident. She was really trying to get rid of him.”

Thomas nodded. “And you. We found paperwork Claudia tried to file on your behalf to sign over your trust, but because of a technicality that she got wrong, the document was rejected.”

Scarlet’s chin dropped. “She told me a few days ago that I needed to sign some papers for the trust, so there wouldn’t be any delay in me accessing it when I turn twenty-five in three months. But I didn’t get around to it.”

“It’s likely that she realized that the paperwork would never fly, that’s why she and Derek came up with the arson plot,” Eddie mused, exchanging a look with Thomas.

“I think they had a different plan before that,” Ryder interjected. When Scarlet looked at him, he continued, “Setting you up with Derek, so they could work it both ends. And when Derek messed up Claudia’s plan by almost raping you, they had to come up with a quick solution.”

“So that they could get the five million dollars in my trust?” Scarlet asked.

“Five million?” Eddie asked and pulled something up on his screen.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ll get in three months.”

Eddie shook his head. “Not according to this statement. That’s your trust, isn’t it?”

Scarlet leaned closer so she could see the name on the statement Eddie was showing her. “Yes. That’s my trust. How were you able to get access to this?”

Eddie smirked. “Let’s just say that Thomas and I can hack into pretty much anything we please.” He pointed to the screen again. “Anyway, there’s no five million dollars in there. Not anymore. Over the past year, huge withdrawals were made. My guess? Claudia managed to withdraw money and was slowly moving it off-shore.”

Ryder looked at the statement, and then at Scarlet, realizing what this meant. “That’s why they had to act quickly. In three months you would have seen that most of the money in your trust was gone. They couldn’t allow that.”

Scarlet stared at him, her eyes widening. “Oh my God. Ryder, my half-brother had the same kind of trust. But he died before he was able to access it. Do you think…”

Tears welled up in her eyes. Ryder pulled her into his arms.

“Thomas? Eddie?” Ryder asked. “His name was Joshua King.”

“We’ll look into it,” Thomas said. “I hate to say it, but it’s possible. They tried to kill Brandon King and you, Scarlet. But right now, we need to find Claudia and Derek. The good thing is that the banks are closed tomorrow and Sunday. They won’t be able to execute any wires. That gives us a fighting chance before they disappear.”

“Have you traced Claudia’s phone?” Ryder asked.

“Tried that,” Eddie said, “but it’s switched off. Her last location before she switched it off was Palo Alto.”

“She was with Dad earlier,” Scarlet said. “But they would have had to knock Dad out to bring him to San Francisco—” She looked at Ryder. “Where in the house did you find Dad?”

“He was tied up and gagged in his study.”

“Derek and Claudia could still be in San Francisco,” Scarlet mused. “Somebody had to start the fire just after we went inside. They had to be close.”

Ryder nodded. “One of them, yes, though there is always the possibility of triggering a fire remotely, but I have no idea if either of them has those skills.” He thought about it for an instant. “Problem is, with both you and your father dying in the fire, Claudia would be an instant suspect, which means she needed an alibi. She would have been nowhere close to San Francisco when the fire broke out.”

“I agree,” Thomas said. “She would have established an alibi in Palo Alto, somewhere where she could be seen.” He addressed Eddie, “Check her credit cards, and see where she used them in the last six hours.”

“Already on it,” Eddie said and typed something on his keyboard. Moments later, he shared his findings. “She ordered pizza from Massimo’s in Palo Alto, and then later there’s a DoorDash order from Sinful Desserts.”

“They’re both not far from our house,” Scarlet confirmed. “Massimo’s only delivers within a two-mile radius.”

“We’re heading to Palo Alto,” Ryder decided. “I need a few guys. By now, Derek is probably back with Claudia.”