The bait
John had vanished without a trace, and after six months of relentless searching, Silas's efforts seemed futile. His spies had been dispatched far and wide, scouring every corner of the city and beyond, but still, there was no sign of the man. It was as if John had simply evaporated from existence.
Silas was livid. "How can it be this hard to find one man?" he barked on the phone, pounding his fist on the table. "He has no backup, no resources, and still, you can't find him! What is this—has the earth swallowed him whole?"
On the other end of the line, Caleb swallowed hard. Silas's anger rattled him, but he too felt the weight of their failure. "We're doing our best," Caleb said though lacking conviction.
"Your best isn't enough," Silas growled. "Six months! Six months, and nothing. He is out there, hiding, waiting, and he could be planning to strike back at any moment. We don't even know what he is capable of or how he plans to hurt my family."