CHAPTER 7:Across the Broken Bridge
853 Words
The river roared beneath them.
Moonlight shimmered across the raging water, revealing jagged rocks waiting below like rows of sharpened teeth.
Elena's pulse pounded in her ears.
"Adrian..." she whispered.
The broken bridge rushed toward them.
Half of it had collapsed years ago.
Only a narrow strip of cracked concrete connected one side to the other.
Behind them, the remaining SUVs closed the distance.
Their headlights illuminated the night like predators locking onto their prey.
Adrian's eyes never left the road.
"Fasten your seatbelt."
Elena's hands shook as she pulled the belt tight across her chest.
Grace silently did the same.
The speedometer climbed.
One hundred.
One hundred and ten.
One hundred and twenty kilometers per hour.
"You're going too fast!" Elena cried.
"If I slow down, we die."
The front wheels reached the bridge.
The entire structure groaned beneath the SUV's weight.
Concrete cracked.
Dust rose into the air.
For one terrifying second, Elena thought the bridge would collapse beneath them.
Instead, Adrian kept accelerating.
The SUV bounced violently over broken sections of pavement.
The steering wheel shook in his hands.
"Almost there..." he muttered.
A loud crack echoed behind them.
The first support beam snapped.
The bridge began collapsing from the far end.
Chunks of concrete crashed into the river below.
"We're not going to make it!" Grace shouted.
"We are."
Adrian slammed the accelerator to the floor.
The SUV surged forward.
Its front wheels reached solid ground just as the last section of the bridge gave way.
With a deafening roar, the center collapsed into the river.
A cloud of dust filled the air.
Elena looked back.
The pursuing SUVs skidded to a stop on the opposite side.
Their drivers jumped out, shouting orders.
One man pointed toward the river.
Another raised his rifle.
Bullets whistled through the air.
Most struck the shattered remains of the bridge.
One ricocheted off a rock near the SUV.
"They can't cross," Elena said, breathing heavily.
Adrian wasn't smiling.
"They don't have to."
He looked into the rearview mirror.
"They'll find another route."
Grace leaned forward.
"We've bought ourselves time."
"Not much."
Adrian turned onto a narrow forest road.
"We need a new vehicle."
---
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at an abandoned sawmill hidden deep within Ravenwood Forest.
Rusted machinery stood silently beneath the moonlight.
The large warehouse doors hung crooked on broken hinges.
Nature had begun reclaiming the property years ago.
Elena looked around cautiously.
"Why are we here?"
Adrian parked the SUV behind the warehouse.
"Because no one knows this place still exists."
Grace smiled faintly.
"Not exactly no one."
She climbed out of the vehicle and walked toward the warehouse.
Instead of entering through the front...
She knocked three times on the side wall.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
For several seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then...
A hidden metal door slid open.
An elderly man stepped into the moonlight.
He had a thick white beard, oil-stained overalls, and kind brown eyes.
When he saw Grace, relief washed over his face.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it."
Grace embraced him warmly.
"It's good to see you again, Samuel."
Samuel's eyes shifted to Elena.
For a long moment, he simply stared.
Then his expression changed.
"My God..."
He whispered.
"You have your mother's eyes."
Elena froze.
"You knew my mother?"
Samuel nodded slowly.
"I owed her my life."
He stepped aside.
"Come inside. Quickly."
---
The warehouse looked abandoned from the outside.
Inside, it was anything but.
Hidden beneath old tarps were computer monitors, communication equipment, maps, and shelves filled with neatly organized files.
A large workbench occupied the center of the room.
On it lay dozens of photographs connected by red strings.
Most featured the Blackwood family.
Others showed politicians, police officers, judges, and business executives.
Elena stepped closer.
"This is..."
"A war room," Samuel replied.
"We've been collecting evidence for almost twenty years."
Adrian walked toward one wall and removed his jacket.
Elena noticed several scars running across his shoulder.
Long.
Deep.
Old.
She stared at them.
"You've been attacked before."
He looked over his shoulder.
"More times than I can count."
Samuel handed Elena a steaming mug of tea.
"You should sit down."
She accepted it with trembling hands.
"I don't understand any of this."
Samuel sighed.
"You will."
"But first..."
He opened a locked drawer beneath the workbench.
Inside was another photograph.
He placed it gently in front of Elena.
Her breath caught.
It showed two women standing together.
One was her mother.
The other...
Looked almost identical to her.
Same green eyes.
Same smile.
Same hair.
Only slightly older.
Elena looked up in confusion.
"Who is she?"
Samuel's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Her name is Amelia Carter."
Elena frowned.
"I've never heard of her."
"You weren't supposed to."
Grace slowly lowered her eyes.
"Because Amelia wasn't just your mother's sister..."
Samuel finished the sentence.
"She was your mother's twin."
The room fell silent.
Elena stared at the photograph, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Her mother had a twin sister.
Another secret.
Another lie.
And somehow...
She knew this revelation was only the beginning.
- Writer
