Chapter 5 - The Chase in the Woods
The woods surrounding Silver Ridge were dense and ancient, filled with thick briars and hidden ravines. Eliza ran blindly, her breath coming in ragged, painful gasps. The branches whipped her face, scratching her cheeks, but she didn't stop. She could hear voices calling her name in the distance—Nathan’s deep voice, frantic and loud, and Mrs. Pruitt’s sharp, commanding tone.
"Eliza! Stop!" Nathan’s voice echoed through the trees.
But Eliza was terrified. In her mind, the adults were going to lock her away forever. She scrambled down a steep, muddy embankment, her new shoes slipping on the wet leaves. She fell, sliding down into a shallow ravine, her ankle twisting sharply.
She let out a cry of pain, clutching her leg. She tried to stand, but a sharp, burning pain shot up her ankle, forcing her back down. She was trapped in the mud, cold and shivering, as the sky began to darken.
Above her, she heard footsteps.
"Eliza?"
It wasn't Nathan. It was Mrs. Pruitt.
The woman scrambled down the embankment, her neat clothes now covered in mud, her face twisted in a mask of desperation. She reached Eliza and grabbed her arm, her grip like iron.
"You stupid girl," Mrs. Pruitt hissed, shaking her. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve ruined everything! Because of you, he’s digging into the past. I should have sent you away years ago!"
"Let me go!" Eliza cried, tears streaming down her face. "Please! I didn't do anything!"
"You existed!" Mrs. Pruitt shouted. "That’s what you did! You and that other brat. If Helen Wells hadn't been so weak, I would be retired in Europe by now!"
"Let go of her, Eleanor!"
Nathan appeared at the top of the ravine, his chest heaving, his coat gone, his shirt stained with mud. His eyes were blazing with a primal, protective fury. Beside him was Marcus Vance and two estate security guards.
Mrs. Pruitt looked up, her grip tightening on Eliza's arm. "Stay back, Nathan! If you come any closer, I’ll tell the police you assaulted me. I am her legal guardian!"
"Not anymore," Marcus Vance said, holding up a tablet. "I just received an emergency court injunction from Judge Harris. Eliza’s ward status has been temporarily transferred to the state pending an investigation into St. Catherine’s financial fraud. And you, Eleanor, are about to be arrested."
Mrs. Pruitt froze. "Fraud? What fraud?"
"The millions you’ve been skimming from the orphanage's accounts for the last ten years," Marcus said. "We have the bank records. You’re done, Eleanor."
Realizing she had lost, Mrs. Pruitt let go of Eliza’s arm as if she had been burned. She stumbled back, looking at the security guards who were now descending the slope.
Nathan didn't care about Mrs. Pruitt. He scrambled down the muddy embankment, sliding on his knees to Eliza's side. He gathered her into his arms, pulling her head to his chest.
"I’ve got you," he whispered, his voice shaking with an emotion he hadn't felt in a year. "I’ve got you, Eliza. You’re safe."
Eliza buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing violently. "I’m sorry... I'm sorry I ran."
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"Shh, it’s okay. It’s over," Nathan said, kissing the top of her wet head. "We're going home."
As the security guards led a cursing Mrs. Pruitt away in handcuffs, Nathan carried Eliza back up the hill. She clung to him as if he were the only solid thing in a collapsing world. And for Nathan, as he felt her small heart beating against his chest, the gray world began to find its color again.
