Chapter 10 - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
We waited until the house was quiet.
At midnight, four of us slipped out—my father, Julian, Claire, and me. The police had left a guard at the gate, but my father knew a hidden path through the woods. We walked in single file, flashlights off, guided only by moonlight filtering through the trees.
The air was cold. Branches snagged my clothes. Twigs snapped beneath our feet. Every sound made me jump.
“Hale is out here,” Julian whispered. “He knows these woods. Be watchful.”
We walked for nearly an hour. At last, Julian pointed ahead.
Through the trees stood a small cabin. Dark. Silent. No lights showed.
My father signaled for us to wait. He and Julian crept forward. Claire pulled me behind a large oak tree.
“Stay down,” she whispered. “No matter what happens, do not move until I tell you.”
Minutes passed. They felt like hours.
Then my father’s voice drifted back. “It is clear. Come forward.”
We hurried to the cabin. The door was unlocked. Inside, it was empty. But signs of recent life were everywhere.
A half-eaten meal. A cup still warm. Two chairs. A blanket on the floor.
“She was here,” Julian said. “Recently.”
My father knelt beside the table. A notebook lay open. He read quickly.
“Hale moved her,” he said, his voice tight. “He took her to a safer location. Somewhere no one will find her.”
“Where?” Claire asked.
My father turned the page. His face hardened.
“Back to the house,” he said.
We all froze.
“He wrote: The safest place is where everyone already expects her to be. Inside the mansion. Where no one will look until it is too late.”
Claire grabbed my hand. “He has her in the house?”
“Somewhere hidden,” my father said. “Behind a wall. In a basement room. In an attic space. Somewhere even I did not know existed.”
I thought of the mansion. Endless rooms. Long hallways. Closed doors.
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“We have to go back,” I said. “Now.”
We raced through the woods. Fear lent us speed. If Hale was already inside… if he had taken Vanessa there… what was he planning
