Hailey Dean Mystery: A Will to Kill

The film begins with Hailey Dean feeling stable enough to finally investigate the murder of her fiancé, Will Morgan, who was shot in an alley years prior. She enlists the help of Danny Morgan, Will's brother and a police detective. While revisiting the crime scene, Hailey recalls that the shooter looked shocked after the gun went off, suggesting she might have been the intended target rather than Will. This realization leads her to look into other events from that time, specifically the disappearance of her college friend Emma Harper, who allegedly moved to France but was never heard from again. Hailey discovers that Emma's passport was never used and her 'farewell' email was likely faked. As Hailey and Danny dig deeper, they focus on their old college circle: Brad, whose family owns a major construction firm; Vivian, who was jealous of Emma; and Clyde, the seemingly supportive friend. They learn Emma was an investigative journalist for the school paper working on a story about the university's new student center. By recovering data from old floppy disks, Hailey finds evidence of a bribery scandal where Stenson Construction paid off the university president and the newspaper editor, Tom Rakanski, to secure a contract. Danger escalates when a mysterious biker attempts to run Hailey off the road. The biker is later identified as Marcus Young, a career criminal who is found dead in an apparent suicide. Forensic evidence confirms Marcus was the man who shot Will and was also seen clearing out Emma's dorm room years ago. Financial records link Marcus to a shell company called Arcand International, which is tied to offshore accounts in Switzerland. In the climax, Hailey goes to Clyde's lake house alone. Clyde appears and confesses to everything. He reveals that he was the one running the bribery scheme to prove himself to his father. When Emma discovered the truth, he hired Marcus to kill her. Emma had lied to Marcus, claiming she 'told Hailey everything' to save herself, which prompted Clyde to order Hailey's death. Marcus botched the hit, killing Will instead. Clyde justifies his actions as a 'misunderstanding' and attempts to intimidate Hailey, but Danny arrives just in time to arrest him. The film concludes with the discovery of Emma's remains and Hailey finally finding peace as Will's case is officially closed.