Ryan stepped out of the car, standing in front of the church, not ready to say goodbye to his father. “We couldn\u2019t even give Dad a proper funeral,” he thought, but Bella\u2019s barking interrupted his thoughts.<\/p>\n
He calmed her, then entered the church. His father\u2019s casket was already in place, closed. The funeral director had cordoned off the area due to Arnold\u2019s infectious disease.<\/p>\n
During the service, Bella barked and jumped on the casket, knocking flowers to the floor. Ryan opened it, only to find it empty. “Where\u2019s my brother?” his uncle asked, stunned.<\/p>\n
Ryan rushed his mother to the hospital after she fainted. At home, he called the police. Detective Bradshaw confirmed the cause of death, but there were no leads. Ryan decided to visit the morgue, only to discover the coroner had resigned and his father’s file was missing. After slipping past the nurse with money, he found nothing. Then he received a call from his father\u2019s lawyer, Mr. Stevens, who told him he was now the CEO of Arnold’s company and needed to meet.<\/p>\n
At Arnold\u2019s office, Ryan noticed two missing figurines and learned about the company\u2019s mounting debt. Mr. Stevens also hinted Arnold might have had a romantic affair with his new secretary, Miss Pearson. Ryan followed Miss Pearson to her suburban home and found Arnold\u2019s life insurance policy for $7 million, with her as the beneficiary.<\/p>\n
He rushed to the police station with the document. Miss Pearson was booked on a flight to Morocco, but when the officers cornered her at the airport, she wasn\u2019t there. Back at square one, Ryan tracked down the figurine collector who had the missing piece of the set and bought it for $750,000.<\/p>\n
Ryan then arranged to sell $750,000 worth of company shares to get the money, despite Mr. Stevens\u2019 concerns about his motives. He attended an auction, hoping his father would show. As the price climbed, Arnold finally appeared and bid $1 million. As soon as the gavel fell, Ryan blocked his path.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, you faked your death to run off with Miss Pearson?\u201d Ryan exclaimed. Arnold confessed he was tired of his old life and wanted to start fresh with her, using the insurance money and a falsified death certificate to escape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"