Single mother gambled her final $900 on a deserted house. The discovery inside transforms her life forever…

Should we leave? Just go somewhere else until this is resolved? Sam thought for a moment. That might be exactly what they want, to scare you away long enough for them to search the property thoroughly. No, I think we need to stay and fight, but smartly.

My house has a good security system. You and Ethan should stay with us for now. That evening as Maya and Ethan prepared to leave for Sam’s house, Ethan made a disturbing discovery.

His inhaler wasn’t working properly. When he tried to use it, nothing happened, though it should have been nearly full. Someone tampered with this.

Maya realized examining the inhaler. The medication inside had been emptied and replaced with water. Now thoroughly frightened, Maya hurried Ethan to the car.

As she turned the key in the ignition, Sam suddenly shouted, wait, don’t start the car. He dropped to the ground, looking underneath the vehicle, then emerged with a grim expression. Brake line’s been cut.

If you’d driven down that hill, the implications were terrifying. This wasn’t corporate intimidation anymore. It was attempted murder.

They called the sheriff again, who this time took the report more seriously, but still seemed reluctant to acknowledge the connection to Radcliffe Pharmaceuticals. You’re suggesting a multi-billion-dollar corporation is trying to kill you over an old house? He asked skeptically. That’s a serious accusation without hard evidence.

What about the threatening phone call? The tampering with my son’s inhaler? The cut brake lines? Maya demanded. Could be unrelated incidents, or someone with a grudge against you personally. We’ll investigate, but I need to be honest.

It’s going to be difficult to connect this to a major corporation without substantial evidence. That night, sheltering at Sam’s house with Ethan and Lily, Maya realized how quickly the situation had escalated. They had gone from discovering valuable research to being actively targeted in just a few days.

We need to be proactive, Sam said as they discussed their options. If they’re willing to go this far, they won’t stop. I’ve been thinking about that tape recording, Maya said.

It’s evidence of Richard Patton threatening Josephine right before she disappeared. The local sheriff might not take it seriously. The FBI might.

It’s 30 years old, Sam pointed out. And without Josephine’s body, they might still treat it as a missing person case, not murder. But what if we could find her, Maya suggested.

What if she left more clues about where to look? The next day, while Sam stayed with the kids, Maya returned to the property with Iris, who had known Josephine better than anyone still living in the area. Josephine was methodical. Iris recalled as they walked the overgrown property.

She would have had a system, a backup plan if anything happened to her. She mentioned a secondary location in her journal. We found her lab, but there might be somewhere else.

They systematically explored the property, looking for any structure or hiding place they might have missed. It was Iris who noticed something odd about the old well. This well was here when Josephine bought the place.

But I don’t remember that stone pattern around the edge. She must have rebuilt it at some point. The stones around the well’s edge formed a pattern that, when viewed from above, resembled a compass rose.

One stone was slightly different in color than the others, marking what would be north in the pattern. It’s pointing at something, Maya realized. Following the direction, they came to a massive old oak tree at the edge of the property…