CHAPTER 6 — The Woman Everyone Thought Was Dead Walked Out of the Forest
News of the hidden vault exploded across America.
Victor Hale became the face of one of the country's biggest corruption scandals.
Politicians resigned.
Judges disappeared.
Executives turned against one another.
But while the world focused on the investigation...
Samuel couldn't stop thinking about Margaret's journal.
One page was missing.
Torn out.
He searched every drawer in the cabin.
Nothing.
Then, one quiet evening, the Alpha Wolf appeared outside the porch again.
It didn't come alone.
It turned its head toward the forest.
As if asking Samuel to follow.
Emily begged him not to go.
"Grandpa... what if it's dangerous?"
Samuel smiled gently.
"Some debts can only be repaid by finishing the journey."
Together with the Alpha, Samuel walked deep into the snow-covered woods until they reached a forgotten stone bridge.
Standing beneath it...
Was an elderly woman wrapped in a long gray coat.
Her silver hair moved gently in the wind.
Samuel froze.
The walking stick slipped from his hand.
His voice cracked into a whisper.
"...Margaret?"
Emily gasped.
"But... Grandma died fifteen years ago."
The woman slowly turned around.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I wanted to come home every single day..."
Samuel's knees nearly gave way.
He reached toward her trembling hand.
"Then why didn't you?"
Margaret looked toward the distant mountains.
"Because if they had known I was alive... every person I loved would have been murdered."
Emily burst into tears.
"But whose people?"
Margaret slowly pulled a faded photograph from her pocket.
Standing beside a much younger Victor Hale...
Was a man who looked exactly like him.
She whispered the words that changed everything.
"Victor was never the real mastermind."
She pointed to the second man.
"His older brother... Richard Hale... is still alive."
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the trees...
May you like
Another pair of glowing eyes silently opened.
To Be Continued...
