Chapter 2
The key opened the padlock on the storage shed behind the cabin.
Ethan discovered that twenty minutes later.
He had seen the small shed when they arrived two days earlier, but Rachel had told him it belonged to the property owner and was probably filled with maintenance equipment. Ethan had believed her because there had been no reason not to.
Now he stood in the snow with Sophie inside the cabin behind him and Rachel watching from the porch.
“Ethan, this is ridiculous,” she said.
He fitted the silver key into the lock.
It turned.
Rachel stopped talking.
Ethan looked over his shoulder.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“The key was in Sophie’s coat.”
“I didn’t put it there.”
“Then who did?”
Rachel wrapped her arms around herself.
“I don’t know.”
Ethan pulled the lock free.
The shed door creaked open.
The smell hit him first.
Dog food.
Not just a small bag.
Several large sacks were stacked against one wall.
Beside them sat a red plastic container labeled MEAT SCRAPS.
Ethan stared.
The cabin rental listing specifically warned guests not to leave food outside because of bears, coyotes, and wolves.
He stepped inside.
A folding table held a collection of items.
A wildlife camera.
A coil of rope.
A heavy flashlight.
Two bags of raw beef treats.
A portable speaker.
And a notebook.
Ethan opened it.
Dates.
Times.
Weather conditions.
Then lines that made his stomach tighten.
11/14 — tracks near creek, 6:20 p.m.
11/20 — male returned after meat placed by tree line.
11/27 — gray female, alone, 5:40 a.m.
12/03 — large gray male approached porch after bait.
Ethan stopped reading.
He looked toward Rachel.
“What is this?”
She shook her head.
“I’ve never seen it.”
“This cabin is rented under your account.”
“So?”
“So you chose it.”
“Yes, because it was available.”
“You told me your coworker recommended it.”
“She did.”
“What’s her name?”
Rachel hesitated.
That was enough.
Ethan stepped out of the shed carrying the notebook.
“Who recommended the cabin?”
Rachel stared at him.
“Nina.”
“Nina who?”
“Nina Barrett.”
“What office?”
Rachel looked away.
“You’re interrogating me.”
“I’m asking a simple question.”
“She used to work with me.”
“Used to?”
“Yes.”
“You said coworker.”
“Oh my God, Ethan.”
“Did she recommend this cabin?”
Rachel did not answer.
He stepped closer.
“Did she?”
“No.”
The word barely came out.
Ethan felt his body go cold.
“So why are we here?”
Rachel looked toward the woods.
“I found it online.”
“That’s not what you told me.”
“I wanted this weekend to feel special.”
“So you lied?”
“It was a stupid lie.”
Ethan held up the notebook.
“And this?”
“I don’t know.”
He almost shouted.
Instead, he forced his voice lower.
“Sophie says you locked her outside. Her coat and boots were placed outside before the wolf appeared. There’s a key to this shed in her coat. Inside this shed is evidence someone has been baiting wolves near the cabin. And you want me to believe none of it connects to you?”
Rachel’s face crumpled.
“I would never hurt Sophie.”
“Then help me understand.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know!”
Her voice echoed off the trees.
Ethan glanced toward the cabin.
Sophie stood behind the patio glass watching them.
He lowered his voice.
“Go inside.”
Rachel stared at him.
“You don’t trust me with her.”
“No.”
The word landed between them.
Rachel went pale.
For eight months they had shared a house.
For two years before that, a relationship.
Ethan had trusted Rachel with school pickups, doctor appointments, birthday parties, bedtime routines.
He had let her become part of Sophie’s life because after Sophie’s mother died, Ethan had promised himself he would never bring anyone unstable into their home.
He had believed Rachel was the opposite of unstable.
Organized.
Calm.
Responsible.
Safe.
Now he realized “controlled” and “safe” were not the same thing.
Rachel walked inside without another word.
Ethan searched the rest of the shed.
The wildlife camera contained an SD card.
He removed it and returned to the cabin.
Rachel stood in the kitchen staring out the window.
Sophie sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket.
Ethan took his laptop from his bag.
“Dad?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah?”
“Are we leaving?”
“As soon as the road opens.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
Ethan inserted the SD card.
The folder contained hundreds of images.
Most were automatic trail-camera photographs.
Deer.
Foxes.
A black bear.
Then wolves.
Dozens of them.
Almost always near the same tree line behind the cabin.
Many photographs showed pieces of raw meat scattered across the snow.
Ethan clicked through the dates.
The baiting had been happening for months.
Then he reached photographs from the current weekend.
Yesterday morning.
A gray wolf stood near the shed.
Last night.
Two wolves near the back porch.
This morning, 7:13 a.m.
A person crossed the frame carrying the red meat container.
The photograph was blurry.
The figure wore a dark hooded jacket.
Ethan clicked to the next image.
The person turned slightly.
Rachel gasped.
Ethan stared.
It was not Rachel.
It was a man.
Tall.
Thin.
Dark beard.
He was carrying meat toward the tree line.
Sophie leaned closer.
“I know him.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
Rachel looked at Sophie sharply.
Sophie pointed at the screen.
“He came to our house.”
“When?” Ethan asked.
“Before Christmas.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“No, he didn’t.”
Sophie looked at her.
“Yes.”
Ethan’s pulse quickened.
“What happened?”
“He talked to Rachel in the driveway.”
Rachel shook her head.
“Sophie, stop.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You know him.”
“No.”
Sophie pointed again.
“She yelled at him.”
Rachel’s face went blank.
“What did she say?” Ethan asked.
Sophie thought.
“She said, ‘You were supposed to stay away.’”
Silence.
Ethan looked at Rachel.
“Who is he?”
She stared at the screen.
Finally she whispered, “My brother.”
Ethan blinked.
“You told me you were an only child.”
“I lied.”
Another lie.
Each one changed the shape of the woman in front of him.
“What’s his name?”
“Caleb.”
“Caleb what?”
“Caleb Voss.”
Not her last name.
Rachel’s maiden name was Mercer.
Ethan frowned.
“Why different names?”
“We have different fathers.”
“Why is he here?”
Rachel shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Ethan slammed the laptop shut.
“Stop saying that.”
Rachel flinched.
“I haven’t spoken to him in months.”
“He was at our house before Christmas.”
“I told him to leave.”
“And now he’s at the cabin you secretly chose, baiting wolves outside while my daughter gets locked out?”
Rachel’s eyes filled.
“I didn’t know he would be here.”
“Would be here?”
Rachel realized the mistake.
Ethan heard it too.
“You knew he had been here before.”
She said nothing.
“What is this place?”
Rachel walked to the kitchen table and sat down.
For the first time since the attack, she looked genuinely defeated.
“My mother used to bring us here.”
Ethan stared.
“You said you’d never been here.”
“I know.”
“Why are you lying about everything?”
“Because I wanted that part of my life gone.”
“What part?”
Rachel looked at Sophie.
“Not in front of her.”
Sophie stiffened.
Ethan nodded toward the loft.
“Sweetheart, can you go upstairs for ten minutes?”
Sophie grabbed his hand.
“No.”
“It’s okay.”
“No.”
Her fear was immediate.
Ethan crouched.
“I’m not leaving the cabin.”
Sophie whispered, “Don’t stay with her alone.”
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears.
Ethan felt something twist in his chest.
He had never heard his daughter speak that way about another adult.
“Okay,” he said. “You can stay.”
Rachel laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Ethan ignored her.
“Tell me about Caleb.”
Rachel looked toward the fire.
“He’s dangerous.”
“How?”
“He gets obsessed with things.”
“What things?”
“People. Animals. Revenge.”
Ethan waited.
Rachel’s voice dropped.
“When we were kids, our mother dated a man who lived near here. He was abusive. Caleb started baiting coyotes near the property because he wanted to scare him.”
Ethan stared.
“How old was Caleb?”
“Fourteen.”
“And now he’s baiting wolves.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rachel looked at him.
“I think he followed us.”
“Why?”
“Because he hates me.”
“That doesn’t explain Sophie.”
Rachel’s eyes moved to the child.
“He knows she’s important to you.”
Ethan felt anger rise.
“So you think your brother locked Sophie outside?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was he inside the cabin?”
“I never saw him.”
Sophie whispered, “I did.”
Everyone turned.
Ethan moved beside her.
“When?”
“Last night.”
Rachel stared.
“Where?”
Sophie pointed toward the mudroom.
“I woke up because I heard the door.”
“What did you see?”
“A man.”
Ethan’s chest tightened.
“What was he doing?”
“He was standing by Rachel.”
Rachel shook her head slowly.
“No.”
Sophie continued.
“They were whispering.”
Ethan looked at his wife.
Rachel whispered, “She’s lying.”
Sophie’s face changed.
Not frightened this time.
Angry.
“You gave him the red box.”
Ethan turned toward Rachel.
“The meat container?”
Rachel stood.
“No.”
“You did!” Sophie shouted.
Rachel backed away.
Ethan’s mind raced.
The trail camera showed Caleb carrying the red container at 7:13 that morning.
If Sophie saw Rachel hand it to him during the night, then Rachel had known he was at the cabin.
The entire story about being surprised was false.
Again.
“Rachel.”
She looked at Ethan.
His voice became quiet.
“Tell me the truth right now.”
Rachel’s hands began shaking.
“I can explain.”
“Then do it.”
She looked toward the windows.
Then toward the door.
As if measuring distance.
Ethan noticed.
“Don’t.”
Rachel froze.
“You’re not leaving.”
Her eyes filled.
“Ethan, you don’t understand.”
“Then make me understand.”
Rachel opened her mouth.
A loud crack came from outside.
The lights went out.
The refrigerator stopped humming.
The cabin fell silent.
Sophie screamed.
Ethan pulled her close.
Rachel looked toward the darkened windows.
“What happened?” Sophie whispered.
Ethan moved to the glass.
The power line that ran from a pole near the tree line to the cabin sagged into the snow.
Cut.
Not broken by wind.
Cut cleanly.
Then something hit the front door.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ethan grabbed the fireplace poker.
“Stay behind me.”
A voice came from the porch.
A man’s voice.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Rachel.”
She went white.
The voice continued.
“You promised me the girl would be outside longer.”
Ethan slowly turned toward his wife.
May you like
Rachel started crying.
And in that moment, every doubt he had left disappeared.
