Chapter 2 - The Five Year Silence
The rain in Oregon was different from the rain in Boston.
It was softer, greener, and carried the scent of pine instead of salt and concrete.
Maya stood on the porch of her small coastal cottage, holding a mug of black coffee.
Her name was Sarah now.
She wore faded denim and thick sweaters, working quietly at a local animal rescue where no one asked questions about her past.
"Mommy, look what I found!" a bright voice called out from the yard.
Maya turned and smiled as her four-year-old son, Leo, ran up the wooden steps.
He had Gideon’s dark, intelligent eyes and the exact same serious set to his jaw when he was thinking.
Every time she looked at him, her heart broke and healed all over again.
"What do you have there, sweetie?" Maya asked, kneeling to his eye level.
Leo held out a highly detailed, expensive wooden toy car.
"A nice man in a dark suit gave it to me at the park," Leo said cheerfully.
Maya's blood instantly turned to ice in her veins.
"What man, Leo?" she asked, trying to keep the absolute terror out of her voice.
"He said he was an old friend of yours," the little boy explained innocently.
Maya grabbed the toy car and turned it over, her fingers tracing the smooth wood.
Hidden inside the wheel well was a tiny, blinking red light.
It was a GPS tracker.
"Get your backpack, Leo," Maya commanded, her voice suddenly sharp and clinical.
"We are going on a trip right now."
She rushed into the house, pulling a hidden duffel bag of emergency cash and fake passports from beneath the floorboards.
Five years of peace shattered in a single afternoon.
She heard the gravel crunch in her driveway and froze.
Maya pulled a loaded pistol from her top drawer and aimed it directly at the front door.
The doorknob turned slowly, and a tall figure stepped into the hallway.
It was Elias Reed, looking older, scarred, and completely exhausted.
"Put the gun down, Maya," Elias said quietly.
"You led them to me!" she screamed, keeping her finger on the trigger.
"I came here to warn you," Elias corrected, locking the door behind him.
May you like
"Victor Crowe is dead, but the man who killed him found my hidden files."
"Gideon knows you are alive, and he is standing right behind me."
