Chapter 15 - The Unbound Horizon
Outside the gates of St. Jude-in-the-Pines, the demolition crew was setting up their equipment.
A large yellow excavator sat on a flatbed trailer near the oak trees, its steel bucket glistening in the midday sun. Workers in high-visibility vests were unrolling yellow caution tape around the perimeter of the lawn where two hundred wealthy guests had once drunk champagne beneath gold fairy lights.
Julian stood on the high stone bluff overlooking Blackwood Gorge.
The river far below was a winding ribbon of white foam and dark blue water, crashing over ancient granite boulders before flowing out toward the Atlantic Ocean. This was the spot where his father’s car had plunged over the edge five years ago—the spot where his old life had ended, and his long nightmare had begun.
He leaned slightly on his wooden walking cane, feeling the cool autumn wind push against his face, rustling his dark hair.
Behind him, a car horn honked softly twice.
Julian turned around.
Parked beside the black estate wagon was a comfortable blue station wagon. Sitting in the passenger seat was a warm-faced woman with silver-streaked hair and kind eyes—his aunt Eleanor. Sitting in the back seat, waving frantically through the glass, was Clara.
Julian smiled.
It was not a forced smile for a photographer, nor was it the polite smile of a frightened boy trying to please a mother who was poisoning him. It was a broad, radiant smile that reached his hazel eyes, lighting up his pale face with warmth and real, unadulterated joy.
He lifted his wooden cane, set it across his shoulders like a balance bar, and took a step away from the edge of the cliff.
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He didn't limp. He didn't hesitate.
He ran down the grassy slope toward the car, his feet striking the cool, damp earth with strong, rhythmic, unstoppable strides, leaving deep, clear footprints in the soil behind him that the rain would never wash away.
