A local officer reports seeing a van that matches the suspect vehicle outside the Black Coal campground, sending Saint and a law-enforcement team racing from town along the Tamiami Trail toward Big Cypress National Preserve. As they drive through the Everglades landscape, the natural beauty sharply contrasts with the urgency of the hunt.

When Saint arrives, multiple cruisers are already on scene and more sirens are approaching. In the oppressive heat, officers spread out while Saint draws her gun and joins the search. She reflects that, despite once imagining she could track Eli Aaron alone, this break only came because fifty agents across eleven states shared information and resources.

The search party crosses a timber footbridge to a hiking trail, where a trooper spots a line of blood leading into tall grass. The officers fan out with wide spacing and weapons ready, following procedure as they move through boggy ground and heavy mosquitoes. Saint stays focused on the stakes, knowing that if Eli Aaron is not stopped, he will kill again.

As Saint carefully pushes through the wet undergrowth, she suddenly stumbles and discovers Ashlee Miller lying face down. Saint turns Ashlee over, tries to revive her with chest compressions, and then screams, suggesting the team has reached Ashlee at a devastatingly late moment.