Chapter 14 - The House by the LakeThe rescue began just before dawn.
Bennett's team surrounded the house.
Ethan entered through the rear.
Inside, silence.
Then a gunshot.
He froze.
“Claire!”
A door opened.
Claire appeared.
Alive.
Behind her stood her mother.
Ethan ran toward them.
For one brief moment, nothing else mattered.
Claire collapsed into his arms.
“I thought I'd lost you.”
“You didn't.”
Her mother watched them quietly.
Then she said:
“Victor is downstairs.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
“He never left.”
The basement door slammed shut.
A man's voice echoed from below.
“Come and finish what your father started.”
Ethan looked at Claire.
May you like
She took his hand.
Together, they descended.
Related Stories
Chapter 15 - The Truth About MichaelVictor waited beside a wall covered with old photographs.
Chapter 16 - The Last BetrayalThe traitor appeared behind them.
Chapter 17 - The Fall of Victor KaneVictor reached the shoreline.
Chapter 18 - What RemainsMonths passed.
Chapter 19 - A New BeginningOne year later, Whitmore Manor no longer felt haunted.
Chapter 20 - The Door That Remained OpenSix months later, Ethan and Claire married beneath a canopy of white lights.
