I followed the red markers until my swollen ankle finally gave way.

As I fell beside the trail, I noticed a small maintenance cabin hidden behind the vines.

Inside was an emergency radio covered in dust.

I turned it on.

“Can anyone hear me?”

Static answered.

Then a familiar voice broke through.

“Eleanor?” Mateus whispered.

“They said you fell into the river.”

“I was pushed.

Where are Richard and Julian?”

“At the lodge.

They returned two hours ago and told everyone you were gone.”

“Two hours?” My hand tightened around the radio.

“They did not even search for me.”

Mateus lowered his voice.

“That is not the worst part.

Julian demanded access to the lodge satellite phone.

I heard him call your company lawyer.”

“What did he say?”

“He said you had suffered a fatal accident and Richard was ready to sign the emergency succession papers.”

My stomach turned cold.

Those papers could not give Julian control unless someone inside Thorne Meridian had prepared them before the trip.

“Mateus, who sent the documents?”

Before he could answer, a door slammed on his end.

“Someone is coming,” he breathed.

“Do not return to the lodge.

They know the radio has been activated.”

The signal crackled.

Then another voice came through—quiet, frightened, and unmistakable.

“Eleanor,” Celeste whispered, “Julian has been lying to all of us.”

What Celeste revealed next exposed a plan that began long before the Amazon trip.

Click the link below to read Eleanor’s full story.