Chapter 7
The motorcycle tore through the winding dirt trails of the state park, its headlights slicing through the impenetrable darkness of the storm. Chloe clung desperately to the rider, the freezing wind whipping her brown ponytail across her face as they navigated sharp turns and slick puddles. Her bruised ankle throbbed with every jolt of the suspension, but the sheer relief of escaping Julian's immediate reach gave her a second wind.
After twenty minutes of aggressive driving that left the Vance estate miles behind, the motorcycle slowed down, turning onto a secluded gravel driveway flanked by towering cedar trees. At the end of the drive sat a modest, single-story ranch-style cabin with its windows completely blacked out by heavy shutters.
The rider cut the engine, coasting silently up to the side of the wooden porch before killing the headlight altogether. The silence of the forest rushed back in, broken only by the steady dripping of rain from the eaves.
The rider dismounted, pulled off their dark helmet, and shook out a mass of short, dark hair. It was a woman in her late thirties, with sharp, intelligent eyes and a small scar curving across her left temple. She wore a durable tactical jacket over a charcoal sweater, and her gaze when she looked at Chloe was a mixture of intense concern and professional detachment.
"Are you hit anywhere besides that ankle?" the woman asked, her voice steady and authoritative.
Chloe shook her head, clutching the satellite phone in her hand. "Who are you? How did you know where I was?"
"My name is Sarah Miller," the woman replied, pulling a heavy iron key from her pocket to unlock the cabin door. "I worked with your father before he went underground. And the person who sent me to pick you up is waiting inside."
Chloe followed Sarah through the heavy wooden door into a dimly lit room filled with computer monitors, tactical gear, and stacks of financial dossiers. Sitting at a steel workbench in the corner, illuminated by the amber glow of a soldering iron, was a tall man with familiar brown hair and tired, sharp eyes. He looked up, setting his tools down with a metallic clink.
"Dad?" Chloe whispered, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes once more.
May you like
Arthur Vance looked older, thinner, and heavily weathered by the past three days of hiding, but he was alive. He stood up quickly, his chair scraping against the concrete floor, and opened his arms wide. Chloe flew into his embrace, burying her face in his jacket as all the terror, grief, and exhaustion finally caught up with her.
"I'm so sorry I put you through this, sweetheart," Arthur murmured, kissing the top of her head. "I had to make them think I was gone so they would expose their entire network. But I underestimated how ruthless Julian and Elena would become."
