CHAPTER 3: THE CABIN IN THE MOUNTAINS

The journey took twelve hours.

The photograph led them far beyond cities and highways.

Deep into forgotten wilderness.

Rain hammered the windshield as the businessman drove through narrow mountain roads.

The boy sat quietly beside him.

Finally, they found it.

The cabin.

Exactly as it appeared in the photograph.

Hidden among towering pine trees.

A single light glowed inside.

The businessman stepped out first.

His heart pounded so hard it hurt.

Slowly, he approached the door.

Then it opened.

An older man appeared.

Gray hair.

A weathered face.

Countless scars.

But the same eyes.

Scott.

Neither brother spoke.

For a moment they simply stared.

Twenty years of grief.

Twenty years of unanswered questions.

Twenty years lost.

Then Scott smiled.

A broken smile.

The businessman rushed forward.

The brothers embraced beneath the rain.

Neither cared who saw.

Neither cared about pride.

They had both spent too many years believing the other was gone.

But joy quickly turned to concern.

Scott revealed the truth.

The fire years ago had not been an accident.

A criminal organization had tried to kill him after he discovered their operation.

He survived.

But remaining hidden was the only way to protect everyone he loved.

Now they had found him.

And they were coming.

The headlights appearing in the distance proved it.

The past had finally caught up.