Chapter 9 - THE MOUNTAIN LODGE
Blood dripped from the cut above Elena’s eyebrow into her left eye.
She dragged her broken, shivering body through the dense, dark woods for over two miles.
The pain in her ankle was blinding, but the thought of Lily kept her moving.
Finally, the trees cleared.
A massive, secluded wooden mansion stood atop the cliff.
Warm light spilled from its grand floor-to-ceiling windows into the stormy night.
Two private security guards paced back and forth along the front stone porch.
In the driveway stood a luxury Mercedes sprinter van with its trunk open, loaded with travel luggage.
Elena hid behind a thick pine tree, catching her breath.
Through the large living room window, she saw Lily.
The little girl was sitting on a sofa, holding the old, faded photograph of the young motorcycle racer.
Victoria Vance stood behind the sofa, holding a glass of scotch in one hand.
Julian sat nearby on an armchair, his face buried in his hands, looking completely broken.
"Drink your milk, child," Victoria’s harsh voice echoed faintly through the glass.
"We are leaving for the airport in ten minutes."
"I don't want to go!" Lily’s small voice wailed.
"I want my Mommy!"
"Your mother is dead!" Victoria snapped coldly, setting her glass down with a hard clatter.
"She abandoned you!"
"You will never speak her name again!"
Lily burst into hysterical tears, hugging the faded photograph to her small chest.
Outside in the freezing rain, Elena’s teeth slammed together in pure, unadulterated rage.
She wiped the blood from her face with her torn sleeve.
She looked around the muddy perimeter of the house.
Near the generator shed, she spotted a heavy steel crowbar resting against a pile of firewood.
Elena crept through the shadows, keeping low to the ground.
She wrapped her fingers tightly around the cold, rusted steel of the crowbar.
She didn't care about legal evidence anymore.
She didn't care about court orders or blackmail.
She was going to get her daughter back, or she was going to die on this mountain.
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Suddenly, a hand clamped down hard over Elena’s mouth from behind.
A powerful arm wrapped around her throat, pulling her backward into the deep shadows of the trees.
