Chapter 88

Chapter 88
The rain had not stopped. It came down in steady sheets that soaked the earth and blurred the line between sky and forest. The shed they’d taken shelter in was cold, its tin roof leaking in slow drips that sounded like a ticking clock counting down.

Lila sat near the doorway, her knees pulled close to her chest, staring out into the gray. Her clothes were damp, her hands trembling slightly from the chill and everything that had just happened. Across the small space, Nate leaned against the wall, his shirt clinging to him, his jaw clenched tight. He had barely spoken since Daniel vanished into the woods.

Ethan paced in a tight circle, restless. “He’s going to regroup. You know that, right? Men like him don’t run off and lick their wounds. They come back harder.”

Nate didn’t look up. “I know.”

“Then why the hell are we still sitting here?” Ethan’s voice was sharp, frustration dripping from every word. “We should be halfway to the city by now.”

“Because the city is exactly where he’ll look first,” Nate said quietly. “He’ll have every road, every camera, every contact watching for us.”

Ethan threw his hands in the air. “So what? We just sit here and wait for him to find us?”

Before Nate could respond, Lila spoke, her voice calm but firm. “We need to think, not panic.”

Ethan turned to her, his tone softening just slightly. “And what if there’s no time left to think, Lila? What then?”

She met his eyes, and for a moment, he saw it, the same fire that had carried her through every storm so far. “Then we make time.”

Mia handed her a towel, her face tired but steady. “She’s right. Daniel wants control. He wants us to be afraid. If we start running blind, we’re playing his game.”

Ethan sank down on a crate, muttering under his breath, but he didn’t argue again.

The silence that followed was heavy. Lila watched Nate from across the room. His eyes were unfocused, lost somewhere deep inside himself. She knew that look. He was replaying everything, Daniel’s smirk, the gun, the threat.

“Hey,” she said softly.

He glanced up, his expression unreadable.

“You can’t fight ghosts,” she said. “You can’t blame yourself for everything that went wrong.”

“I can,” he said, his voice low. “Because I let it happen. I walked away from the business thinking I could escape it. I thought if I stayed out of it, Daniel would too.”

“And he didn’t.”

“No.” Nate looked down at his hands. “He waited until I cared about something again. Someone.”

Lila’s heart caught in her throat. “Nate…”

Before she could finish, Mia’s voice cut in from the window. “Movement.”

They all turned. Through the fogged glass, a shape was approaching, slow, uncertain, not one of Daniel’s men. Lila’s pulse quickened as the figure stepped into view. It was an older man, soaked from the rain, his gray hair plastered to his forehead.

He raised his hands as he got closer. “I’m not armed!”

Ethan pointed his gun at the door. “That’s what they all say.”

But Nate had gone still, his breath catching. “I know that voice.”

The door creaked open, and the man stepped inside, shivering. His eyes landed on Nate, then softened.

“Hello, son.”

The words hung in the air like thunder.

Lila blinked. “Your… father?”

Nate didn’t move. His jaw tightened, his voice quiet and sharp. “You have a lot of nerve coming here.”

His father sighed, wiping the rain from his face. “I know. But I didn’t come to talk about the past.”

Nate stood slowly, his eyes dark. “You left me to clean up your mess. You left Elise to die while you cut deals with men like Daniel.”

“I didn’t know he’d go that far,” the older man said, his voice trembling slightly. “You think I’d ever want this for you?”

Lila stepped closer, her instincts warring. “Then why are you here now?”

He turned to her, his gaze soft but tired. “Because I know what Daniel wants. And I know how to stop him.”

The room went quiet. Even the rain seemed to hush.

Nate crossed his arms. “Why should I believe anything you say?”

“Because Daniel isn’t working alone,” his father said. “He’s partnered with someone who’s been feeding him everything about you. Every movement, every contact, every person you’ve trusted.”

Mia frowned. “A mole?”

He nodded. “Someone close.”

Ethan shifted uncomfortably. “Close how?”

Lila’s chest tightened as the man’s eyes met hers. “He knows about the girl,” he said quietly. “The one you’re trying to protect.”

Nate’s voice hardened. “What did you just say?”

“Lila,” his father said gently, “he knows you have the journal. And he knows what’s inside it.”

Lila’s heart dropped. “That’s not possible. I haven’t told anyone.”

“Someone did,” he said. “Someone who’s been in touch with Daniel since before the gala.”

The shed was silent. Then Ethan laughed nervously. “You can’t be serious. You think one of us. ”

“Don’t,” Nate said, his tone sharp.

Lila’s stomach twisted. The tension in the room was unbearable. Every face she trusted suddenly felt unfamiliar.

Mia was the first to speak. “If he’s telling the truth, we need proof. We can’t start turning on each other.”

“I can get you proof,” Nate’s father said. “But we have to move fast. Daniel’s on his way to the lake. He plans to cut off your escape and take the journal for himself.”

Lila looked at Nate, fear flickering in her eyes. “The lake?”

He nodded grimly. “It’s our only route to the airstrip. If he gets there first…”

Ethan’s voice trembled. “Then we’re trapped.”

The old man stepped closer. “There’s a boat hidden near the docks. Take it before he gets there. I’ll draw his men away.”

Nate’s voice was cold. “Why would you help us now?”

His father’s eyes softened. “Because you’re all that’s left of what Elise believed in. And because I owe that girl more than I can ever repay.”

Something in Nate’s expression cracked, pain, anger, grief all fighting to surface. Finally, he gave a small nod. “Fine. But if this is a trick…”

“It’s not,” his father said. “Go. Now.”

The group moved quickly, grabbing their things and heading into the rain. Lila hesitated at the door, turning back to the man. “Why do I get the feeling this is goodbye?”

He smiled faintly. “Because it is.”

Then he closed the door behind them.

As they ran through the forest toward the lake, Lila couldn’t shake the feeling that every step brought them closer to something darker. The sound of the rain swallowed their footsteps, but somewhere far off, she thought she heard an engine, fast, hungry, closing in.

And deep down, she knew Daniel wasn’t far behind.