The tension was unbearable in the cabin. Noah tightened his grip on the map and stared at Derek. In his mind, he could hear the words repeated: Someone tipped them off.Mia stood silently watching from one corner, eyes flitting between the two men. "Noah," she said softly, her voice trembling, "we don't have time to fight. Marcus' men could already be on their way."Noah's jaw tightened. "Then we need answers now."Derek raised his hands defensively; his voice was calm but firm. "You think I'd betray you? I've been risking my life to protect you.""Then how did they know about the cabin?" Noah demanded. He spat the words out viciously but under it all was a slight trembling of doubt."Because Marcus has resources," Derek continued robustly. "He has been trailing us ever since that warehouse. What? You think he needs my help to find you?"Noah blinked. He struggled against the emotion of anger conflicting with a flickering spark of doubt in his chest. Derek had always been reliable to his mother, but this case was creeping into a dangerous angle."We can do nothing here," Mia spoke up, her voice slicing the silence. "If they knew of this cabin, they'd know where we would take the next step. Time for a scheming plan, one that does not involve tearing our hearts."---While the trio packed the cabin, Noah's mind was racing. With everything that Derek had revealed about his mother, Noah was so removed from the image he had kept all along about her. To him, Sara had been a loving, protective woman. But the Sara Derek had expressed-an official tied into dangerous organizations-felt like a stranger.Mia stayed at his side as they moved. She did not talk much, but she was somehow comforting, grounding him in all of the chaos."You're okay?" she asked softly when they stepped outside."No," Noah confessed. "But I cannot let that stop me. Not now."Gently, she touched his arm. "We'll work that out. Together."The simple word-together steadied him.---The return trip to the city was marked with silence and tension. Derek navigated while Noah and Mia sat in the back seat. As they neared the outskirts of town, Derek broke into the silence with these words."There's someone we need to see," he said.Noah narrowed his eyes at the sound of the name. "Who?""A former associate of your mother's. He knows things-things even I don't. If anyone can help us stop Marcus, it is him."Mia looked nervously from Noah to him. "Can we trust him?"Derek did not answer straight away. "He doesn't have a choice. If Marcus turns this ledger up, it's not just us in danger-it's everyone tied to it. He'll help because he doesn't want to be next."---They pulled up to a decrepit bar on the edge of town. The neon sign flickered ominously in this place, spilling dark lights onto the cracked pavement.Noah asked in a tone that showed he didn't believe it very much, "This is the place?""Yes," Derek agreed. "Stay close. And stay quiet."Inside, the air was heavy with smoke and churning sounds. Derek took them to a booth at a corner, where an older man with shallow creases on a weathered face and piercing eyes sat nursing a drink."Victor," said Derek, sliding into the booth.Victor's gaze flicked toward Derek then moved towards Noah and Mia. "You brought company.""They're with me," Derek replied. "We need your help."Victor leaned back, his expression guarded. "Help with what?""The ledger," Noah said, cutting straight to the point. "We need to get our hands on it before Marcus does.""Why would I help you?" Victor narrowed his eyes."Because if Marcus gets it, you're finished," Derek said bluntly.For a while, Victor studied them before sighing. "Sara was a bright woman. It was clear to her that Marcus would come after her eventually and that is why she does not leave the ledger with her.""Then where is it?" Noah pressed on.Victor hesitated before saying, "It is in a safety deposit box. But the key... was hidden."Noah knew that sinking feeling again. Another riddle, another level of mystery. "Where did she hide it?"Victor's expression softened; for the first time, he seems to regard Noah not as a threat but as Sara's child. "She left clues, Noah. In certain places that were meaningful to her. Places you would know."---Noah's head raced in the car. The memories of growing up with his mother were bits and pieces of an unfinished puzzle."Only one place it could possibly be," said Noah finally, his voice determined.Mia and Derek looked at him expectantly."The old park by our house," Noah continued. "She used to take me there all the time. There was a tree we carved our initials into. She always said it was special."---They got to the park before dawn. Sunlight pierced through some odd cracks, forming long shadows of an empty playground. Noah led the way, his heart pounding as he neared the gnarled old oak tree."This is it," he said, sweeping fingers across the bark.Derek handed him a knife. "If she hid something here, it'll be buried deep."Noah rushed at the task, prying loose a piece of bark. Behind it, he found a small metal box embedded in the tree. His hands shook as he opened it, revealing an ornate key and a folded piece of paper.The paper was very yellowed, but the words were clear: For Noah. Trust no one but yourself.---Suddenly, before his whole brain could realize the note's meaning, footsteps sounded in the empty sweep of the park. Noah turned to see Marcus and his men emerging out of the trees, guns lifted towards him."So moving," sneered Marcus. "The prodigal son unearths his mother's secrets. Too bad you won't live to use them."Derek stepped before Noah and Mia with a gun raised. "You're not getting the key, Marcus."Marcus laughed icily. "You think you can stop me? You're outnumbered."A wave of determination swept over Noah, and he gripped the key tightly as his mind raced. This was it-the moment to prepare what his mother had for him."Marcus!" Noah shouted and then took a few steps forward, "You want the key? Then come and get it."The two men came to him, and Noah threw the key into the thick woods. It was a diversion that was enough. Derek fired, nailing two of Marcus' men.All of a sudden, confusion erupted; Noah had seized Mia's hand and dragged her toward the shelter of the trees. Bullets whizzed past them, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.Behind them, Derek was a howling storm, holding off Marcus's men with precision and fury.-A clearing where their breathing was the only sound in which the world was eerily silent."Do you think Derek will make it?" Mia asked, her voice trembling.He hesitated before replying, "He has to."An explosion rocked the forest in the distance. A plume of smoke climbed above the treetops, and the sound of sirens filled the air."What was that?" Mia asked, her eyes wide.Noah's jaw tightened. "The end of Marcus."To Be Continued