The funeral service was proceeding normally until Bella started growling at the casket. Ryan had never seen his service dog behave this way—she was trained to remain calm in all situations. Her insistence was so intense that Ryan finally yielded to his gut feeling and opened his father’s coffin.
Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw—or rather, didn’t see. The casket was completely empty.
Ryan’s investigation uncovered an elaborate scheme:
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Arnold had been embezzling from his own company for months
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He’d begun a secret relationship with his secretary, Miss Pearson
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Together, they’d bribed a coroner to falsify death records
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A $7 million life insurance policy would fund their new life abroad
The final clue came from Arnold’s prized collection of rare figurines—two were missing from his office. Ryan tracked down the third, using it to lure his father out of hiding at a high-stakes auction. When Arnold appeared to claim the piece, police arrested him on fraud charges.
As Ryan watched his father being led away, he realized Bella had been the only honest participant in this entire charade. While others pretended grief, his dog had immediately sensed the deception—and refused to let the lie stand.
