In the small town of Big Bear Lake, where the forest grew over several thousand square kilometers, a man named Josh had lived for many years. He came here after his military service and took a job as a forest ranger. Josh had come here to his beloved, beautiful Renee, who grew up in this town....CONTINUE READING
When the girl graduated from high school, she entered medical school and went to study in another city. There she accidentally met Josh. Renee planned to return to her hometown to work there as a nurse. She promised that she waited for him. They dreamed of getting married and living a quiet, happy life together in a small town surrounded by nature. What could be better?
When Josh came to visit his beloved, they bought themselves a small house outside the city, almost in the woods near a small river. It was perfect for Josh and Renee. A year after their wedding, Andrew was born to them. Renee and Josh lived a very happy life. When their son went to first grade, Josh drove him to school every morning through the woods. It didn’t take long. Sometimes after school, Andrew would stop by his mom’s work at the local hospital, and she would give him money for ice cream.
When Andrew was 10 years old, Renee became unexpectedly ill. An examination showed that she had leukemia. The woman began to weaken rapidly, and within three months, she was gone, despite the best efforts and endeavors of the doctors. Josh became a widower and gave all his love to his son, who became his main concern in life.
Dorothy Dots, an elderly woman, lived next door to them. She had worked as a nurse at the local hospital but had long since retired. She had helped Josh after his wife died and looked after his son when Josh was at work.
The woman had an excellent knowledge of medicinal herbs and plants and shared her knowledge with Andrew. Together, they collected plants, and Dorothy taught Andrew how to use and store them properly. Josh was always helping Dorothy. He repaired the roof, did the hard work that the old lady couldn’t handle anymore. She baked delicious pies and gave them to Josh and Andrew. They always helped and supported each other like mother and son.
One day, walking around his area of responsibility, Josh noticed someone’s footprints. When he looked closely, it was obvious that they were the footprints of a woman. What was she doing alone in the forest, wearing inappropriate heeled shoes, was a mystery to him. The man decided to find her and ask her how she came to be in this wilderness.
The forester was worried that the woman might be in trouble and quickened his pace. She had been circling aimlessly through the forest for a long time and had gradually gone into the most remote places. Soon, Josh found a pretty woman under the fir tree. She was lying absolutely still, but her breathing was measured. She had probably passed out from exhaustion.
The man thought cautiously. He sat down beside her and felt her pulse. Her heart was beating steadily, which meant that nothing had happened to her. She was just tired. What to do, Josh pondered. He decided to go back to his off-road vehicle, which had been left nearby, and drove as close to the place as possible to get the unfortunate woman out of the forest. He had to hurry because it was getting dark.
When he returned, the woman was still lying where he had left her. The man sat down beside her and brought to her lips a flask of the chilled herbal tea Dorothy was making. The woman took a few sips and began to regain consciousness. After a few minutes, her pale cheeks turned pink, and she opened her eyes.
“Where am I? Who are you?” she asked uncertainly and began to look around apprehensively.
“You’re lost in the forest. I’m the local forest ranger. My name is Josh Davis,” the man replied calmly.
“I saw your footprints, followed them, and found you under this fir tree.”
It was obvious that the woman was very scared of something because she kept looking around.
“Please help me hide somewhere. I’m afraid they are already looking for me,” the woman whispered anxiously.
“Calm down. I’ve got my car right next to me. I’ll take you somewhere safe,” Josh said as he helped the woman to his car.
The stranger had dozed off on the road, so Josh didn’t wake her. It was dark by the time they left the forest. Josh decided to go to his house, which was only 20 minutes away, and take her to the police office in the morning. He carried the woman into the house, laid her on the living room couch, covered her with a blanket, and went to Dorothy’s house.
After arranging with a neighbor to see the stranger, he went outside with Andrew, and he and his son drank tea on the veranda until the old woman called them into the house. “I changed her clothes. She has bruises all over her body, and the rope marks on her arms and her feet are badly chafed from the shoes. Let her sleep till morning. We’ll know more in the morning,” said Dorothy.
By morning, the stranger had regained consciousness. Dorothy brought hot herbal tea and persuaded the woman to drink a full cup. It was Saturday afternoon, so Josh was in no hurry to get anywhere. After taking a light snack, Eva, for that was the woman’s name, began a long story about how she had ended up in the forest in such a pitiful condition.
Youssef Friedman, a hereditary jeweler and antique dealer, inherited an antique store from his father. Young Youssef diligently learned from his father the art of the antique dealer. When the Jewish boy finished school, he did not study further. It was necessary to help his father in the antique store. He married well, his wife gave birth to a daughter, but she died soon after giving birth. Youssef named his daughter Eve.
Eve’s first marriage was not very successful; her husband was addicted to gambling. Wise Eva filed for divorce in time, saving her property, and raised her daughter Adele alone. The grandfather idolized his granddaughter and did everything to make sure that his girls did not need anything. A year ago, he left this world after his beloved wife. Sometime later, Eva was invited by a notary public to read her late father’s will, which made her a very wealthy heiress. Her father left her expensive real estate, including a beautiful house in the Big Bear Lake suburbs, several substantial accounts in various banks, including an account with a rather large sum of six zeros in a safe deposit box in one of the banks, or family heirlooms of undisclosed value, most likely a unique collection amassed by several generations of successful antique dealers.
Just before the inheritance, the young woman accidentally met a handsome man, and as it seemed to her at the time, a respectable man. William literally did not give the woman a pass; he courted her beautifully, gave her flowers and modest gifts. They visited various restaurants where the man ordered exquisite dishes. Adele was thrilled to have such a fun and generous mommy’s friend and secretly confided to her mother that she would like to have just such a daddy. Eva was pleased with such attention from William.
At the end of August, the man disappeared for a few days, and when he returned, he solemn
ly asked Eva to marry him and presented a beautiful and quite rare antique ring. Eva agreed, and the wedding was celebrated in a cozy country hotel. But it turns out that William is a real con man, preying on gullible, single, and wealthy women. He steals from the victim and then disappears in an unknown direction. He has long thought everything through and thoroughly prepared for the execution of his cunning plan.
One day, he offered Eva a trip to a country house for two. He gave sleeping pills to his wife and at night dragged the sleeping Eva into the basement, tied her up, and left her frightened until morning. Adele was left in the care of his partner, a 25-year-old girl named Dolly. He helped her get a babysitting job for Adele in advance. His task was to break Eva’s will and force her to give him all her money. William locked his wife in a deep cellar where he had prepared everything in advance.
“You must transfer all of your money to my accounts. I’ll take all your jewelry too. The real estate will stay with you so you won’t starve to death. If you ever go to the police and report me, your daughter will die. Believe me, I have big contacts, and I can do it. You will sign all the papers; you will give me your account information. Otherwise, I’m calling Dolly, and she’ll give your daughter a lethal injection that the autopsy will show nothing. The girl will die in her sleep. I have a cute heart failure.”
At first, the young woman did not believe that such a sweet and caring William was capable of anything more than keeping her locked up. After 24 hours, she realized that the cruel sadist was capable of much more. She couldn’t sleep from the stress and hopelessness of her situation. On the third day, Eva realized with horror that she had no way out of the situation. No one would come to help her, and no one would show up at this country house.
When her tormentor appeared at the door again, the poor woman said, “I’m ready to sign anything you want, as long as you don’t touch my daughter. I don’t want to kill her either. If you do everything I ask, Adele will live.”
“When are you gonna bring the papers you need to sign?” Josh could barely contain his anger.
“There’s no hurry. What can we charge him with, physical abuse? Josh, they’re married. Any defense attorney would clear him in the courtroom at the first hearing. The fact of keeping Eva in the basement is not provable. There are no witnesses. Therefore, it is necessary to catch him with evidence of illegal actions,” Dylan reassured his friend.
Eva and Josh found their soulmates in each other. Josh adopted Adele, and Andrew has a little sister now. The friendly family lives permanently in the city in the posh apartment of Eva. But Josh does not forget his friends and regularly visits them. The spouses decided that as long as the weather was good for the summer vacation, Andrew and Adele would be better off outdoors, which the children were very happy about. So, the family spent the whole summer in a country house not far from the forest, where Josh knows every tree.
