Chapter 6: The Safe House
We left the station an hour later, escorted by two plainclothes officers Jude had arranged beforehand. They drove us to a small wooden cabin deep in the pine forests, three hours north of the city. No address, no sign, no neighbors for miles.
When we walked through the door, Lucas stood up from the couch. His left shoulder was wrapped tight in bandages, his face pale and tired—but his eyes lit up the second he saw me.
I ran to him and held on so tight I think I might have bruised him.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I never wanted to lie to you. I just couldn’t risk them getting close to you or Ethan.”
“You had a brother,” I said, pulling back to look him in the eye. “All these years… you never said a word.”
“I was told he died,” Lucas said, glancing at Jude. “My parents swore the pregnancy only had one child. They lied. I only found out six months ago. And then everything started falling apart.”
Jude set his keys on the kitchen table with a heavy thud. “Only three people knew about the cabin. Me. Lucas. And your lawyer.”
Lucas went still. “David?”
“He’s the only one who knew exactly where we’d be,” Jude said. “And he’s the only one who had access to all your accounts.”
