Ryan became suspicious when his dog ran into the church and started barking at his father’s coffin. Seeing the dog alert and tense, he opened the casket and was shocked to find it empty.
Earlier, Ryan got out of his car and stood outside the church, not ready to say goodbye to his father. “We couldn’t even give Dad a proper funeral,” he thought sadly. Just then, Bella, his dog, barked loudly and broke his thoughts.
Ryan looked at the car, where Bella seemed more restless than usual.
“Bella!” he said, using a hand signal to tell her to lie down. She obeyed, and he gently patted her head through the window. “Stay here, Bella.”
Then Ryan walked into the church, ignoring her whines. His father’s closed casket was already at the front, and the funeral director had roped off the area because Arnold had died from a contagious illness.
Ryan sat next to his mother, knowing his father would be cremated instead of buried because of how he died.
As the funeral mass ended and people stood to sing, Bella’s barking filled the church. She jumped onto the casket, knocking over the flowers, and barked loudly.
Then Bella sat on the floor in an alert position, staring at Ryan. He immediately felt something was wrong.
“Open the casket!” Ryan shouted.
People gasped, but he didn’t care. He walked up and opened the casket—his father’s body was gone.
“Wh-Where’s my brother?” Ryan’s uncle asked the funeral director in shock.
The shock was too much for Ryan’s mother. She fainted, but Ryan caught her just in time before she hit the floor. He rushed her to the hospital.
Later, at his mom’s house, Ryan called the police.
“The coroner confirmed the cause of death and sent the body to the funeral home,” Detective Bradshaw said. “Was your father involved in anything unusual?”
Ryan hadn’t worked with his dad since starting his own dog training business. Still, he believed his father wouldn’t do anything to harm his or the company’s name.
With no clear leads yet, the detective promised to follow up. But Ryan didn’t want to wait. With his mom staying overnight in the hospital and Bella safe at home, he headed to the morgue to search for answers himself.
“The coroner quit? What about the new one?” Ryan was shocked when the nurse told him there wasn’t a replacement yet. He asked to see his dad’s file, but the nurse said it was against the rules.
Ryan had an idea. He put $1000 on the counter, and the nurse looked the other way while he slipped into the coroner’s office. He searched the shelves for his dad’s file but couldn’t find it—Arnold’s file was missing.
Feeling frustrated, Ryan’s phone buzzed. It was Mr. Stevens, his father’s lawyer. He said Ryan was now the new CEO of Arnold’s company and needed to come in right away.
At the office, Ryan logged into his dad’s Gmail but found the inbox completely empty—someone had deleted all the emails.
“Ryan! Good to see you,” Mr. Stevens said as he walked in and closed the door.
“Who’s been using this computer?” Ryan asked.
“No one,” Stevens replied.
Ryan looked around. “Where are the dancer figurines?” he asked, noticing two were missing.
“Oh, Arnold took them home. He always wanted the third one but couldn’t get it. The owner refused to sell it for less than half a million,” Stevens said.
Ryan knew that wasn’t true. He had been through his parents’ house and hadn’t seen the figurines there.
Stevens changed the subject. He explained the company was in serious debt, and investors were threatening to leave because Arnold had been missing meetings for months.
“It all started when his new secretary joined. To be honest, I think Arnold was romantically involved with her,” Stevens added.
Ryan got angry thinking about how upset his mother was. He wanted to confront his father’s secretary, Miss Pearson, but Mr. Stevens stopped him, saying it would only damage Arnold’s reputation.
Instead, Ryan spent the day working to fix the company’s financial issues and sent gift baskets to the most important investors. Afterward, he followed Miss Pearson and saw her drive into a small house in the suburbs. She was his only clue so far, so he waited outside in his car.
Later, the sound of her garage door woke him up. He saw her drive away toward the city and was about to follow, but then had a better plan. He rushed into her garage just before the door closed and found a way into the house.
He quietly searched the kitchen and found a flashlight so he wouldn’t need to turn on the lights. In her bedroom, he was shocked to find a photo of Miss Pearson kissing his father. Still, he stayed calm and reminded himself he was there to find answers.
After searching the house with no luck, he was about to leave when he noticed a slightly open drawer in the coffee table. Inside was a Manila envelope containing Arnold’s $7 million life insurance policy—naming Miss Pearson as the only person who would receive the money.
Ryan took the document straight to the police.
“This is strong evidence,” said Detective Bradshaw. “I’ll look into this Miss Pearson.”
While Ryan waited at the police station, Detective Bradshaw came rushing in with officers. Miss Pearson had booked a flight to Morocco that was leaving in 30 minutes.
“The U.S. doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Morocco,” she explained, “so we have to stop her before she gets on that plane!”
Ryan wanted to go with them, but the detective said no—he wasn’t allowed. Still, Ryan followed them.
At the airport, Detective Bradshaw shouted, “Police! Let us through!” as they reached the gate. Ryan blended in with the group to avoid being stopped and entered the boarding area. The police quickly spread out, checking every passenger.
“You! The woman in the white shirt!” Bradshaw yelled. “Step out and raise your hands!”
At first, Ryan felt relieved—until she turned around. It wasn’t Miss Pearson.
The search continued for hours, but Miss Pearson had vanished. Ryan was back at the beginning again. But deep down, he believed his father was still alive. He remembered the missing figurines and felt sure Arnold had taken them. So Ryan looked up the collector who owned the third figurine and paid him a visit.
“So…how much do you want for it?” he asked, pointing at the figurine.
“$750,000,” the collector, Mr. Frederick, said firmly.
“That’s way more than what this artist’s work usually sells for,” Ryan replied.
“Then don’t buy it. The price isn’t up for discussion,” Mr. Frederick snapped.
Ryan knew he needed the figurine, so he asked for time to get the money. Back in his car, he called Mr. Stevens and said he wanted to sell $750,000 worth of his company shares.
“But if you do that, you’ll lose control of the company,” Mr. Stevens warned.
“I understand, but this is urgent,” Ryan said. “If I’m right, I’ll be able to buy them back within a week.”
Mr. Stevens paused, then replied, “As your legal advisor, I probably shouldn’t ask why you need so much cash so quickly.”
Then he added, “But as a family friend, I need to ask—does this have anything to do with Miss Pearson and what I mentioned before?”
“In a way, yes,” Ryan said.
Mr. Stevens sighed. “She’s vanished, too. Didn’t show up at work, and her number’s disconnected. I’ll get you the money. Just don’t ask how. I’ll transfer it right away.”
When Ryan got confirmation that the money had arrived, he went back inside to see Mr. Frederick. The old man grumbled that the figurine was worth even more, since it was the only one left to complete the set, but Ryan cut him off.
“You asked for $750,000, and I’m paying it now. Are you not a man of your word?”
Mr. Frederick finally agreed, and the figurine was Ryan’s. Ready for his next move, Ryan made a few calls and a quick stop before heading back to his mother’s house.
“Where have you been, Ryan?” his mother asked when he returned. “I got back from the hospital to an empty house. Bella’s been bored and misses you. I can’t keep up with her. And I haven’t seen much of you since the funeral…”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Ryan said softly. “Please just trust me—it’s important. It’ll all be over soon.”
Later, Ryan stood behind a pillar at the auction house, watching the crowd. The figurine he had just bought was about to be auctioned. He looked at the stage as they brought it up.
As the bidding went up, only two people were still in—an overweight man with a large nose, and a tall man with white hair in a navy suit. Neither of them was his father.
Ryan had made sure to stay anonymous and had placed ads to make sure that, if his father was out there, he would know the figurine was being auctioned today.
“$600,000 going once,” the auctioneer announced.
Ryan felt hopeless. He was afraid he would lose both the chance to find his father and a lot of money on the figurine.
“…going twice…”
“$1 million!”
Ryan froze—he recognized the voice. It was his father. He looked up and saw Arnold standing at the back of the room, taking off his wide-brimmed hat.
“$1 million going once… going twice… sold to the man in the beige coat!” the auctioneer announced, hitting the gavel.
Arnold quickly put his hat back on and walked toward the exit, but Ryan ran around and blocked his way. Then Detective Bradshaw stepped in and put handcuffs on Arnold.
“Ryan?” Arnold looked surprised. “You tricked me! This was all a setup!”
“Don’t make it sound like I betrayed you, Dad!” Ryan snapped. “You’re the one who cheated on Mom and faked your death so you could run away with your girlfriend! How could you do that to us?”
Arnold looked down and admitted he was tired of his old life and wanted to start over with Miss Pearson.
“So you got a big life insurance policy, paid off the coroner to fake your death, and let your family and friends cry over an empty casket?” Ryan said angrily.
“You always told me, ‘A man should do what’s right, not just what benefits him.’ I’m sad you didn’t live by your own words. But now, you’re facing the consequences.”
Detective Bradshaw told Ryan that Miss Pearson would be found soon. Then the police took Arnold away.
