Chapter 7: A Town Owned and Bought
The fallout was instantaneous. By nightfall, the sky above the town of Blackwood was stained a bruised, unnatural orange from the still-burning Vance manor. But the fire was the least of the town’s problems.
The Vance patriarch, Julian’s father, had returned from the city. His son was in a private surgical wing with a shattered kneecap, and his ancestral home was a smoldering crater. The patriarch didn't call the state police; he called his own.
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The Blackwood police department functioned more like a private militia. Roadblocks were erected on every highway, dirt road, and logging trail leading out of the valley. Heavily armed men in tactical gear, bearing no official badges, began kicking in doors in the poorer neighborhoods, searching for anyone matching Lilith's description.
A bounty, quietly circulated through the dark underbelly of the town, was placed on Lilith's head. Alive or dead, it didn't matter. But the girl was to be brought back unharmed. The Vances didn't just want revenge; they wanted their property back. Fear gripped the town. The residents locked their doors, turned off their lights, and prayed the violence would pass them by. The hunting dogs were loose.
