Chapter 12 - The Pursuit through the Woods
Searchlights from the hovering helicopter swept across the dark lawn, illuminating the thick rain like silver needles.
Ethan ran through the dense tree line, the sharp branches whipping against his face and tearing at his clothes.
Behind him, the loud sound of tactical boots crushing wet leaves confirmed that Marcus's men were in heavy pursuit.
"Spread out!" Marcus's voice echoed through the dark woods behind him. "Find him before he reaches the main road!"
Ethan kept his head low, navigating the treacherous terrain using his childhood knowledge of the family estate grounds.
He knew that two miles deep into these woods lay an old, abandoned boathouse sitting on the edge of the lake.
His father used to keep a high-powered speedboat anchored there for quick summer trips across the water to New York.
Ethan pressed his son tightly against his chest, feeling the small baby warm and secure under his thick leather coat.
The child miraculously remained quiet, as if sensing the extreme danger surrounding his father in the dark.
Ethan's left shoulder throbbed with intense, burning pain, the gunshot wound bleeding steadily down his side.
He stumbled over a mossy root, catching himself against a large pine tree before he could fall onto the rocks.
A searchlight beam swept right over his head, lighting up the pine needles around him in a brilliant white glare.
"I see him!" a voice shouted from fifty yards away, followed immediately by a sharp burst of gunfire.
Bullets chipped the bark off the pine tree right above Ethan's head, sending wood splinters flying into the rain.
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Ethan drew his Glock, turned around, and fired three precise shots toward the flashlights approaching through the trees.
A loud groan echoed through the dark as one pursuer collapsed into the mud, giving Ethan precious seconds to keep running.
