Chapter 8: The Cabin in the Woods
The cabin was hidden deep in the woods.
The kind of place nobody would find unless they already knew where to look.
The police surrounded it before sunrise.
I stood behind them, staring at the old wooden door.
Inside was the answer to nine years of questions.
Or another lie.
The officer beside me looked serious.
“Mr. Hayes, stay behind us.””
I nodded.
But my hands were already shaking.
The door opened slowly.
No one moved.
Then a voice came from inside.
“Daniel?””
I stopped breathing.
Because I knew that voice.
Even after nine years.
Even after all the pain.
I knew it.
“Sarah?””
The woman stepped into the doorway.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
My wife.
The person I buried.
The person I cried over.
The person I thought I lost forever.
Sarah Hayes looked at me.
And started crying.
“Daniel…”
I couldn’t move.
My brain refused to understand what my eyes were seeing.
“You’re alive.””
She nodded.
“I am.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because I didn’t know what else to do.
“You let me think you were dead.””
Her face broke.
“I know.””
“You let Ethan think his mother abandoned him.””
“I know.””
“You let me bury you.””
Tears ran down her cheeks.
“I know.””
The anger came after the shock.
A wave of it.
“How could you?””
She closed her eyes.
“Because I thought I was protecting you.””
I wanted to believe her.
I wanted to understand.
But there was a nine-year hole between us.
And I was standing in the middle of it.
Inside the cabin, Sarah explained everything.
The night of the accident, she had discovered Richard’s crimes.
She found evidence.
Financial records.
Secret accounts.
Names of people involved.
But Richard knew she had found out.
“He followed me,” Sarah said.
“He wanted the evidence.””
“What happened?””
“He forced my car off the road.””
My fists tightened.
“I thought you died there.””
“I was injured.””
She looked down.
“Someone pulled me from the wreck before the police arrived.””
“Who?””
She hesitated.
“Marcus.””
I froze.
Marcus.
The same man who kidnapped my son.
“He saved you?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he wanted the evidence too.””
The room went silent.
“So he wasn’t helping you.””
“No.””
Sarah shook her head.
“He was using me.””
“Then why didn’t you come home?””
Her eyes filled.
“Because Richard threatened Ethan.””
My heart stopped.
“He knew about our son?””
“Yes.””
Sarah looked at me.
“He said if I returned, Ethan would disappear.””
I looked away.
All those years.
She had been afraid.
I had been grieving.
And Ethan had been caught between us without knowing why.
Then the cabin door opened.
Everyone turned.
A man stood outside.
Marcus.
He was calm.
Almost smiling.
“Beautiful reunion.””
The police raised their weapons.
“Don’t move!””
Marcus ignored them.
His eyes stayed on Sarah.
“You finally told him.””
Sarah stepped forward.
“You destroyed enough lives.””
Marcus smiled.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“Your wife destroyed your life when she chose to hide.””
My anger exploded.
“You took my son.””
“I protected him.””
“You kidnapped him.””
“I kept him away from Richard.””
I froze.
“What?””
Marcus reached into his coat.
He pulled out a file.
“Because Richard was never the only danger.””
He threw it onto the table.
The top page had a name.
A name I recognized.
A name that made Sarah go pale.
I picked it up.
And my hands started shaking.
Because the file wasn’t about Richard.
May you like
It wasn’t about Victoria.
It was about me.
