Chapter 3 - THE HUNTING LODGEMarcus wanted to drive straight to the address.
Every instinct in his body demanded movement. Brooke had risked her life to protect Lily, and now she might be locked inside an isolated building with the same men who had attacked a child.
But Colonel Mitchell stepped between Marcus and the exit.
“You go alone, they’ll bury you beside that lodge,” he said.
“We don’t know how much time she has.”
“We also don’t know whether the note is genuine.”
Marcus held up the paper.
“Caleb Price gave it to me.”
“Caleb Price signed four reports that protected Rowan and Jaxson.”
“That doesn’t mean he wanted to.”
“It doesn’t mean he didn’t.”
The two men stared at each other.
They had argued before in places where hesitation could cost lives. Mitchell had always taught Marcus that bravery without discipline was simply another form of panic.
Marcus hated hearing that lesson now.
“What do you suggest?” he asked.
Mitchell turned to Eli.
“Verify the location.”
Eli typed quickly.
The lodge had once belonged to Sterling Timber. It sat on 180 acres of forest transferred six years earlier to a shell company called Blue Ridge Recreational Holdings.
Nadia checked the ownership records.
“The shell company leads back to Charles Sterling.”
“Any utilities?” Mitchell asked.
“Electricity was restored two days ago,” Eli said. “The account was opened under a false name, but the payment came from Sterling Valley Finance.”
Marcus looked at the clock.
3:48 AM.
Sunrise was less than three hours away.
Mitchell called a former colleague at the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. He shared the threat recording, Brooke’s messages, the address, and the verified ownership records.
The response was frustratingly cautious.
A tactical team would be notified.
A judge would be contacted.
An emergency warrant would be requested.
“How long?” Marcus asked when the call ended.
“Best case, ninety minutes.”
“And worst case?”
Mitchell did not answer.
Dr. Archer came out of Lily’s room.
“She’s awake,” the doctor said. “She’s asking for you.”
Marcus returned to his daughter.
Lily was staring at the doorway.
“Did they find Brooke?”
“People are looking.”
“That means no.”
Marcus sat beside her.
“Do you know the hunting lodge?”
Lily nodded faintly.
“Grandfather takes people there when he wants them scared.”
“What people?”
“Workers. Sometimes families who owe money.”
Marcus’s hand tightened around the bedrail.
“Have you ever been there?”
“Once.”
Her voice dropped.
“Mom took me.”
“Why?”
“Grandfather wanted me to understand what happens when people embarrass the family.”
The words were delivered with the quiet simplicity of a child repeating something she had been forced to accept.
“What did you see?”
“A man from the mill. He was crying. Grandfather made him sign papers.”
“What kind of papers?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was Brooke there?”
“No. But she knows the lodge. Her dad takes her there when she talks back.”
Marcus stood.
Lily’s eyes widened.
“You’re leaving.”
“For a little while.”
“Are you going to fight them?”
“No.”
It was not a lie.
Marcus did not intend to fight.
He intended to make sure the law finally arrived before the Sterlings could move Brooke.
He kissed Lily’s forehead.
“Dr. Archer and Colonel Mitchell will stay nearby. There will also be state officers in the building.”
“What if Mom comes?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Then she won’t be allowed into this room unless you say so.”
Relief crossed Lily’s face.
That expression told Marcus more about the marriage than Miranda ever had.
At 4:21 AM, Marcus left the hospital with Eli and Nadia. Mitchell stayed behind to coordinate with the state bureau and protect Lily.
They drove in Eli’s rented SUV, following narrow mountain roads through thick fog. The farther they traveled from Asheville, the less reliable the phone signal became.
Marcus remained silent.
Nadia studied him from the passenger seat.
“You know we cannot enter that lodge,” she said.
“I know.”
“We observe. We document. We wait for law enforcement.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep reminding me.”
“Because I’ve worked cases where good people destroyed the evidence by trying to become heroes.”
Marcus looked out at the dark tree line.
“I’m not trying to become a hero.”
“Good. Heroes are terrible witnesses.”
At 5:03 AM, they stopped half a mile from the property.
Eli launched a small commercial drone fitted with a low-light camera. The device climbed silently above the trees and moved toward the lodge.
The screen showed a long wooden building surrounded by neglected sheds and rusting vehicles.
Three pickup trucks were parked outside.
One belonged to Jaxson Sterling.
Another was registered to Rowan.
The third had county plates.
Sheriff’s department.
“There are at least five people inside,” Eli said. “Maybe more.”
A figure appeared briefly on the porch.
Deputy Caleb Price.
Marcus leaned closer.
“Is he guarding the building?”
“Or trying to get her out,” Nadia said.
A second figure emerged.
Jaxson.
He pushed Caleb against the porch rail.
There was no audio, but the argument was obvious.
Caleb pointed toward the road.
Jaxson struck him.
Caleb stumbled backward, drew his service weapon, and aimed it at the ground between them.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then the lodge door opened.
Rowan walked outside holding Brooke by the arm.
Her hands were bound in front of her.
Marcus reached for the SUV door.
Nadia grabbed his sleeve.
“Wait.”
On the drone feed, Caleb raised his weapon.
Jaxson lifted his hands.
Rowan dragged Brooke closer to the truck.
Then headlights appeared beyond the lodge.
Two more vehicles came down a service road.
“State bureau?” Marcus asked.
Eli zoomed in.
“No.”
The vehicles belonged to Sterling Timber security.
Six men got out.
Some carried rifles.
The situation changed instantly.
Caleb lowered his weapon.
Rowan shoved Brooke toward one of the security officers.
She fell to her knees.
Marcus opened the SUV door.
Nadia blocked him again.
“There are eight armed people down there.”
“There’s also a child.”
“She needs you alive.”
The drone feed shook.
One of the security men had spotted it.
He raised his rifle.
The screen went black.
“Drone’s gone,” Eli said.
A distant shot echoed through the forest.
The crack rolled over the mountains.
Marcus was already moving.
He did not run toward the lodge. Instead, he climbed the steep embankment overlooking the service road.
Eli and Nadia followed.
From the ridge, they could see the trucks below.
Rowan was forcing Brooke into the back seat.
Caleb stood near his patrol car, blood visible on his mouth.
He looked toward the forest.
For a fraction of a second, his eyes met Marcus’s.
Caleb reached for the radio on his shoulder.
“Shots fired at the Blue Ridge lodge,” his amplified voice carried through the morning air. “Multiple armed suspects. Civilian hostage. Request immediate state response.”
Jaxson hit him again.
Caleb collapsed.
One of the security officers aimed his rifle at the deputy.
Marcus picked up a stone and threw it down the opposite side of the ridge.
It struck a rusted fuel drum with a sharp metallic bang.
The security officer turned toward the sound.
That moment was enough.
Caleb rolled behind the patrol car.
Brooke kicked Rowan in the knee and pulled free.
She ran toward the tree line.
A man grabbed at her jacket, but she slipped out of it and kept running.
“Brooke!” Marcus called.
She looked up.
Rowan heard him.
His face twisted with rage.
“Vance!”
Brooke reached the base of the ridge.
Marcus slid down the wet leaves, caught her by the shoulders, and pulled her behind a fallen tree.
“Are you hurt?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you run?”
She nodded.
Marcus handed her to Nadia.
“Take her uphill.”
Nadia did not argue.
Gunfire cracked below them, directed into the trees rather than at a visible target. Marcus stayed low and moved behind thick trunks.
He still carried no weapon.
His phone was recording.
Every shouted threat, every order, every face would become evidence.
Sirens sounded in the distance.
The security officers began retreating toward their vehicles.
Jaxson shouted for them to stay.
No one listened.
Rowan ran toward the forest alone.
“Marcus!” he screamed. “You think that video matters? My father owns every judge who’ll ever see it!”
Marcus continued recording.
“Keep talking, Rowan.”
Rowan stopped.
For the first time, he seemed to realize what Marcus was doing.
The sirens grew louder.
State vehicles appeared on the road, followed by two unmarked SUVs.
Rowan turned to run.
Caleb Price stepped from behind his patrol car and pointed his weapon.
“On the ground.”
Rowan laughed.
“You work for us.”
“Not anymore.”
Jaxson fled into the lodge.
Seconds later, smoke poured from a rear window.
“He’s burning it!” Brooke cried.
State agents rushed the building.
Marcus stayed with Brooke, shielding her as officers secured the property.
Firefighters arrived ten minutes later, but the room where Brooke had been held was already burning.
Documents, furniture, and electronic equipment disappeared into the flames.
Brooke watched the smoke.
“They’ll say there was nothing here,” she whispered.
Marcus knelt beside her.
“You are here.”
“That won’t be enough.”
“Why?”
“Because they weren’t only keeping me prisoner.”
She looked toward the burning lodge.
“They made me watch something.”
“What?”
Brooke’s face lost its color.
“My grandfather recorded everyone he owned. The sheriff. The judges. The council members.”
“Where are the recordings?”
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
Brooke glanced at the approaching officers, as though she no longer knew which uniforms could be trusted.
She leaned close to Marcus.
“Under Saint Matthew’s Church.”
Before she could say more, an explosion shook the lodge.
May you like
A section of the roof collapsed.
From inside the burning building came the sound of Jaxson Sterling screaming for help.
