CHAPTER 4 — THE FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW
Police returned to the frozen lake before sunrise.
At first, they found nothing.
No man.
No weapon.
No clear trail.
Then Ranger began barking near the tree line.
The officers followed him into the woods, where the snow had hidden a second path.
There, beneath fresh branches, they found small footprints.
A child’s footprints.
And beside them…
A man’s boots.
The detective’s face hardened.
“He carried her here.”
Suddenly, Ranger dug at the snow beneath an old fallen tree.
An officer pulled out a torn black glove.
Inside it was a gold ring.
Ethan’s mother screamed when she saw it.
Because the ring belonged to her husband.
Ethan’s stepfather.
The man who had been crying on television all night, pretending to be a broken parent.
But the biggest shock came minutes later.
Ranger led them to an abandoned cabin.
Inside, they found police files, newspaper clippings, and one photo pinned to the wall.
A photo of Ranger’s funeral.
Written across it in red marker were four terrifying words:
“THE DOG KNOWS EVERYTHING.”
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And outside the cabin window…
fresh footprints showed someone had just escaped.
