Chapter 20 - The Shadow Remains
Silence fell over the crowd as the trooper's words sank into the cold night air.
Eleanor felt a sudden chill run straight down her spine despite the heat of the burning chapel.
Julian was alive.
He had survived the plunge into the dark river and vanished into the surrounding woods.
Jax immediately stood up straight, his face hardening back into a cold expression of lethal focus.
"He won't stop until he finishes what he started," Jax said quietly, stepping beside Eleanor.
"Let him try," Eleanor said, her voice completely stripped of fear.
"I'm not the defenseless girl he locked away five years ago anymore."
Eleanor reached into her pocket and pulled out the small, folded piece of paper Lily had given her earlier.
She unfolded the wet paper under the flashing red lights of the police cars.
Written inside in dark, precise handwriting was a single line:
“I will see you at the final venue, my bride.”
Eleanor gripped the paper tight in her fist, staring out into the dark, silent forest.
She looked back at her reunited family, her mother and father holding hands on the stretcher.
The fire burned hot behind them, destroying the lies of the past ten years.
The wedding was over, but the fight for her family's survival had only just begun.
May you like
Eleanor turned to Jax and the waitress, her eyes flashing with dangerous determination.
"Let's go hunt him down."
