Chapter 1: The Man in the Woods
Three days after Lily’s rescue, the city began to breathe again.
News stations praised the police operation. Reporters called Detective John Carter a hero. Three members of the kidnapping crew had been formally charged, and authorities announced that their leader, Victor Kane, was likely dead.
John did not believe it.
No body had been found.
No weapon had been recovered.
And the blood trail behind the warehouse had ended beside an abandoned paramedic jacket.
John knew men like Victor did not disappear by accident.
More than thirty miles outside the city, Victor Kane was still alive.
He stumbled through the woods with one hand pressed against the wound in his side. His clothes were soaked with blood and rain, but he kept moving until he reached an abandoned hunting cabin hidden between the trees.
Inside, he found old blankets, canned food, and a rusted first-aid kit.
He collapsed onto the floor.
For two days, he drifted in and out of consciousness.
When he finally woke, he reached into his coat and removed the photograph of the Carter family.
The edges were bent, and John’s face was marked with dried blood.
Victor stared at the picture.
“You took my brother.”
He placed a finger over Lily’s face.
“You destroyed my crew.”
Then he looked at Emily.
“And now everyone calls you a hero.”
Victor slowly sat up despite the pain.
“But heroes have something criminals don’t.”
May you like
He smiled coldly.
“They have people they’re afraid to lose.”
