A funeral. Sobs. The solemn silence of a country church. And suddenly, a bark that tears the moment apart. Ryan’s dog, Rocky, throws herself onto the coffin. What Ryan discovers when he opens it will set off a wild ride, between family lies, inheritance, and disappearance… until a final revelation for which no one was prepared.
The empty coffin and the alert dog
It all begins the day Ryan accompanies his mother to his father, Arnold’s, funeral. The goodbyes are painful, but it’s his faithful dog, Rocky, who senses something is wrong. In the middle of the service, she leaps onto the coffin and barks frantically. Such unusual behavior that Ryan decides to defy protocol: he opens the coffin. Empty.
The assembly is stunned. Arnold’s body is gone. His mother faints. Ryan alerts the authorities.
Arnold’s troubled past resurfaces
The investigation reveals that the medical examiner in charge of the case has mysteriously resigned. At the morgue, Arnold’s medical records have been erased. Ryan turns to the family business , where he discovers, thanks to his father’s computer, that all his digital traces have been deleted. However, one detail catches his attention: two collectible figurines have disappeared from Arnold’s office.
A discussion with the family’s lawyer, Mr. Stevens, sheds light on the matter: Arnold seemed obsessed with a third figurine, extremely rare and highly sought-after. Ryan sets out to find the collector who owns it.
An affair, life insurance, a well-orchestrated escape
Meanwhile, Ryan discovers that his father’s personal secretary, Miss Perin, is the beneficiary of a seven million euro life insurance policy . She was preparing to flee the country for Morocco . Too late for the police: she has disappeared.
But Ryan, convinced that Arnold is still alive, sets a trap. He buys the famous missing figurine and lists it for public auction, hoping his father, an avid collector, will be unable to resist.
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