Chapter 4 - The Safe House
An hour later, Ethan’s beat-up Ford pickup truck was hurtling down the coastal highway through a blinding rainstorm, heading away from Ashford Manor toward the dense pine forests of northern Maine.
Claire sat in the passenger seat, her face pressed against the glass, staring at the blurred yellow streetlights and modern neon signs with wide, bewildered fascination. She hadn't seen a moving car, a asphalt road, or an electric billboard since 2006.
"Everything is so fast," Claire murmured, holding her hand up to the dashboard air vent, feeling the warm air across her skin. "And warm."
Ethan glanced at her, adjusting the heater. "We're going to my cabin near Moosehead Lake. It's off the grid, no cell service, no cameras. Vivian’s men won't find us there."
He pulled a spare fleece sweater and sweatpants from his gym bag behind the seat, handing them to her. Claire accepted them with a small, graceful nod, pulling the oversized hoodie over her thin shoulders.
"Ethan," she said softly, turning her head toward him. "Why are you helping me? You don't know me. Helping a ghost is dangerous."
Ethan gripped the steering wheel tight, staring out at the rain-slicked highway.
"Ten years ago, my father was a construction foreman on the Ashford Port Terminal project," Ethan said, his voice dropping into a somber tone. "He discovered that Vivian Ashford was laundering millions through fraudulent safety contracts. Before he could go to the District Attorney, his car was forced off the road on the coastal cliff. They called it an accident."
Claire listened intently, her eyes filled with deep empathy.
"I spent ten years thinking I was just mapping an old house," Ethan continued, looking over at her with a gentle, unshakeable smile. "Now I know why I was sent to that mansion tonight. We're going to tear her empire down together, Claire."
May you like
Claire reached into her sweatshirt pocket, pulling out the small copper key and the yellowed, hand-drawn map she had hidden beneath the floorboards.
"Then you need to see this," Claire said, unfolding the brittle paper across the dashboard. "My father knew Vivian was dangerous before he died. He didn't just leave me a fortune, Ethan. He left me a weapon."
