Chapter 3 - The Target
Nathan hung up the phone with trembling hands.
He told me his oldest friend was dead.
Vanessa and Marcus would clearly stop at nothing to get what they wanted.
I looked down at Sophia, who was happily coloring on the Persian rug.
I realized my innocent daughter was in terrible danger.
Sophia was the only one who had publicly exposed Vanessa's secret.
If Vanessa realized the child truly understood what she saw, she would kill her too.
I told Nathan I had to leave the estate tonight.
I could not risk my daughter's life for his family fortune.
Nathan agreed and handed me a thick stack of cash and a set of car keys.
He told me to go to a secret safe house he owned in the mountains.
I packed our bags and loaded them into the trunk of his secondary SUV.
I buckled Sophia securely into her car seat.
The night was pitch black, and it was raining heavily.
I drove out of the estate gates, constantly checking my rearview mirror.
I drove for three hours into the winding mountain roads.
The safe house was a small, secluded cabin surrounded by tall pine trees.
I unlocked the front door and turned on the warm lights.
The cabin looked untouched and perfectly safe.
I carried a sleeping Sophia into the bedroom and laid her gently on the mattress.
I went back to the living room to lock the heavy wooden front door.
I noticed a piece of white paper pinned to the dining table.
It was held in place by a sharp, bloody hunting knife.
My breath caught painfully in my throat.
I slowly walked over to the table and pulled the knife out of the wood.
May you like
The note was written in elegant, looping handwriting.
"You really thought you could run from me, Elena?"
