CHAPTER 14
The storm outside intensified,
rain hammering violently against the tin roof of the cabin,
drowning out the sounds of the surrounding forest.
Inside,
Megan worked quickly to dress Jack's wound,
using an old first aid kit she found in the kitchen.
Her movements were efficient,
honed by years of managing crises,
though her heart was pounding fiercely in her chest.
"Thank you,"
Jack whispered,
looking up at her with eyes full of regret and pain.
"Don't thank me,"
Megan replied coldly,
pulling the bandage tight,
causing him to flinch.
"I am doing this for Lily,
not for you,
so don't get the wrong idea."
Lily sat at the wooden table,
wrapped in a warm blanket,
staring at the floor as she processed the madness of her situation.
"We need to find that ledger now,"
Megan stated,
turning away from Jack and shining her light toward the study.
Jack nodded,
leading the way into the small room lined with dusty bookshelves,
where memories of older,
simpler days lingered.
He knelt by the heavy oak desk,
pulling back a faded rug,
revealing the loose floorboards underneath.
With a groan of exertion,
he pried the wood open,
reaching deep into the dark cavity beneath the floor.
His fingers brushed against cold metal,
and he pulled out a small,
heavy steel lockbox,
covered in years of dust.
"This is it,"
he said,
handing it over to Megan,
"the key to destroying Vance's empire."
Before she could take it,
the sound of breaking glass echoed from the front room,
followed by heavy,
deliberate footsteps.
The flashlight beam caught the silhouette of a man standing in the doorway,
holding a silenced pistol,
his face obscured by a dark cap.
"Hand it over,
Mrs. Walker,"
the man instructed,
his voice devoid of any human emotion.
Jack immediately stepped in front of Megan and Lily,
using his own body as a shield,
refusing to let them be harmed.
"Take me,"
Jack shouted over the roar of the thunder,
"leave them out of this!"
The gunman chuckled dryly,
raising the weapon,
aligning the sight directly with Jack's chest.
In that split second,
Megan realized that the man who had ruined her life was now willing to give his own to save them.
She knew she couldn't let him die,
May you like
not like this,
not before he had a chance to redeem himself to his daughter.
