Chapter 2: The Confession
The heavy wooden door of the diner clicked shut. Big John, a local who had been drinking coffee in the corner, slid the deadbolt into place. No one was leaving. The younger man in the white shirt, whose name was Marcus, looked around the room. The false confidence melted from his face, replaced by a twitch of genuine panic.
"Sit," the old man, Silas, commanded. His voice wasn't a shout; it was a low, jagged blade.
Marcus hesitated, then fell back into the booth. Silas didn't sit. He stood towering over him, his massive hands resting flat on the table. Underneath, little Ellie clung to Silas’s leg, trembling.
"You have exactly one minute to tell me where my daughter is," Silas said, his grey eyes piercing through Marcus. "Or this town will make sure they never find you."
Marcus tried to muster a smirk, though his voice cracked. "She owes me. She signed over the property, but she thought she could run with the kid. The kid is my leverage. Give her to me, old man, and maybe I let Anna live."
Silas didn't blink. He reached across the table, grabbed Marcus by the collar, and slammed him down against the wood. Glasses shattered. The diner remained completely silent.
"Where?" Silas growled, applying pressure to Marcus's windpipe.
May you like
Gasping for air, Marcus clawed at Silas's iron grip. "The... the old logging estate! Up the ridge! She’s locked in the basement!"
Silas dropped him in disgust. He turned to the waitress, a trusted friend. "Keep Ellie safe. Lock the doors." Silas reached under the diner counter, pulling out a heavy, dust-covered shotgun. Three of the bar’s regulars stood up, grabbing whatever heavy objects they could find. They were going up the mountain.
