The moment my mother-in-law pointed across the courtroom and said, “She’s faking it,” my husband actually smirked. They had spent hours convincing everyone that my blackouts were nothing but manipulation, but seconds later my legs collapsed beneath me and a U.S. Army doctor came running from the back of the courtroom.

I fought through the blizzard for what felt like hours, my lungs burning, the cold seeping into my bones. Every shadow in the trees looked like him. Every snap of a branch sounded like a footstep.

Suddenly, headlights pierced the whiteout ahead. A truck was slowly making its way up the mountain road.

I ran into the center of the road, waving my arms frantically. The truck slammed on its brakes, skidding slightly before coming to a halt.

The door opened, and a figure stepped out.

“Sarah?!”

It was Carter. He rushed toward me, catching me as my legs finally gave out.

“Carter,” I sobbed, clinging to his jacket. “He’s alive. Daniel is alive. He sent the tin. He cut my phone line, my car cables. We have to get Lily!”

Carter’s face hardened. He practically carried me to the passenger side of his truck and threw it into gear. “Lily’s school called me an hour ago when they couldn’t reach you because of the storm. I already picked her up. She’s asleep in the back.”

I twisted around. My sweet daughter was curled up under a blanket in the backseat, completely oblivious to the nightmare outside.

“Thank God,” I breathed, collapsing against the seat.

Carter sped down the mountain, dialing his secure satellite phone. “I’m calling the Marshals. If he’s in this town, we’re locking it down.”

As the adrenaline began to fade, exhaustion crashed over me. I looked at Carter, the man who had saved my life twice now. “How did he find us?” I whispered.

Carter gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the snowy road. “I don’t know, Sarah. But this time, we don’t run. This time, we hunt him.”

I leaned my head against the cold glass of the window, staring into the endless white forest. The nightmare wasn't over. Daniel was out there, hiding in the dark, waiting for his moment.