Chapter 4 - The Web of Silence
The next forty-eight hours were a living nightmare. Mia remained in the hospital under a protective hold, while Maddie was forced to undergo a mandatory psychological evaluation at Ryan’s insistence, conducted by a therapist who turned out to be a close personal friend of the Sheriff’s department.
Mark and I sat at our kitchen table, files and legal pads scattered between us. The house felt entirely too quiet. Ava was upstairs sleeping, completely unaware of the war being waged in our family.
"Every lawyer I've called in the county has given me the runaround," Mark said, rubbing his tired eyes. "The second I mention Ryan Vance’s name, they suddenly find a conflict of interest or their retainer fee doubles. He’s got this town locked down, Clara. The local police chief, the county prosecutor... they all play golf together."
"We can't look locally then," I said, tapping my pen against the table. "If the local system is corrupt, we have to go above it. What about the state police? Or the FBI? Domestic violence involving law enforcement is a federal issue if there’s a violation of civil rights, right?"
"It’s hard to prove without a paper trail," Mark sighed. "Right now, the official record states that Maddie is an unstable mother who bruised her own child during a postpartum episode, and her heroic husband is doing everything he can to get her help. It's his word against ours, and he has a badge."
"Then we need to find the people he couldn't silence," I said, a thought suddenly sparking in my mind. "Ryan wasn't always a deputy here. He transferred from the Cleveland area five years ago. Maddie told me once that he left his old department suddenly, but she never knew why. She thought it was just for a better cost of living."
Mark looked up, his interest piqued. "A forced resignation? If he has a history of violence or misconduct that was covered up up north, that breaks his pattern of credibility."
"We need to find out," I said. "But we have to be careful. If Ryan catches wind that we’re digging into his past, he won't just try to ruin Maddie. He’ll come after us. He knows where we live, he knows where Ava goes to school."
The phone on the table buzzed, startling both of us. It was an unknown number. I hesitated before pressing answer and putting it on speaker.
"Clara?" a frantic, whispered voice came through the line. It was Maddie.
"Maddie! Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I’m in the bathroom at the clinic," she sobbed softly. "Ryan went to get lunch, but he left his work phone on the counter by mistake. Clara, I found something. He has a file on his personal cloud drive. It’s labeled 'Legacy.' I saw names... names of other women. And there are copies of old internal affairs reports from Cleveland. He didn't transfer, Clara. He was fired for brutalizing an ex-girlfriend, but the Sheriff here hired him anyway because they’re cousins."
"Maddie, listen to me very carefully," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Can you download those files? Can you send them to my email?"
"I—I don't know how much time I have. He’ll be back any second. If he catches me with his phone—"
"Just hit share, Maddie. Send it to my hidden email address. The one we set up for planning Mom’s surprise party. Do it now!"
Through the line, I heard the faint sound of a heavy door opening in the background.
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"Maddie?" Ryan’s voice boomed distantly through the phone, his tone chillingly polite. "What are you doing in there, honey? The doctor is ready to see us."
"I have to go," Maddie whispered in terror. The line went dead.
