Chapter 10 - The Unbroken CircleSix months later, the North Shore of Lake Superior was painted in the brilliant, fiery reds and golds of autumn.
The wind off the lake was sharp, carrying the crisp scent of pine needles and woodsmoke.
I stood on the wrap-around porch of the family lake house, holding a steaming mug of coffee in my hands. The broken window in the study had long since been replaced, the fireplace swept clean, and the dark shadows of the past replaced by the warm, amber glow of afternoon sunlight.
Inside the living room, my father was sitting by the window, laughing as he played a game of chess with Margaret Foster, who had miraculously defied her terminal prognosis long enough to visit the lake house for the weekend.
"Checkmate, Walter," Margaret’s dry, triumphant voice drifted through the open door.
"You cheated on move twenty-two, Margaret, and we both know it," my father grumbled good-naturedly, though he was smiling broadly.
I took a sip of my coffee, feeling the warmth spread through my chest.
My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. I pulled it out, expecting an email from the corporate board or a message from Detective Monroe.
Instead, it was a simple notification from the home security app: Front gate motion sensor triggered.
My breath caught for a fraction of a second, an old reflex of fear trying to claw its way back up my throat. But then I looked down at my hands—steady, strong, and unshakeable.
May you like
I unlocked the screen, swiped away the notification, and tossed the phone onto the wooden porch table.
There was nothing to fear anymore. The wolves were gone, the cage was broken, and for the first time in my life, the path ahead belonged entirely to me.
