Chapter 3 - The Dark Forest
Ethan smashed the phone against the helicopter dashboard.
He grabbed a first aid kit and an emergency flare gun from the storage compartment.
"We cannot stay here, they are hunting us," Ethan told Claire, pulling her into the dense tree line.
The woods surrounding the Briar Glen estate were pitch black and completely unforgiving.
Claire stumbled over exposed roots, her legs weak from twenty years of captivity.
Ethan caught her before she hit the ground, lifting her entirely into his arms.
He carried her through the freezing mud, ignoring the burning ache in his own muscles.
The sound of vicious barking echoed from the mansion behind them.
Vivian had released the estate's guard dogs.
Ethan pushed deeper into the thick brush, searching for any sign of civilization.
After an hour of grueling navigation, they stumbled upon an abandoned hunting cabin.
Ethan kicked the rotting door open and carried Claire inside, out of the freezing rain.
He set her down gently on a dusty wooden cot.
He used a dry piece of cloth to wipe the mud from her freezing face.
"You are doing so well, Claire," he whispered, wrapping her tighter in his coat.
Claire stared blankly at the walls, the sensory overload of the real world clearly shutting her down.
Ethan began searching the dark cabin for anything they could use as a weapon.
He found an old metal lockbox shoved beneath the floorboards.
He smashed the rusty lock with a heavy stone from the fireplace.
Inside the box were dozens of financial documents wrapped in plastic.
Ethan read the first page by the faint light of a lightning strike.
They were bank transfer receipts dating back twenty years.
The documents proved Vivian had paid a professional hitman to run Claire's parents off the road.
But the real shock was the name of the offshore account that had funded the assassination.
The account belonged to Hale Infrastructure.
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Ethan dropped the paper, his heart stopping in his chest.
His own father had paid for the murder of Claire's parents.
