THE PRICE OF HER TEARS:14
1086 Words
Episode 14: The Choice Between Truth and Blood
The words on Florence’s phone blurred before her tear-filled eyes.
“If you open Locker 27… your children will die first.”
Her hands began to tremble.
She quickly locked the screen before anyone else could read the message.
“Florence?”
Daniel Joe noticed the sudden change in her expression.
“What happened?”
She forced herself to look at him.
“Nothing.”
Daniel knew she was lying.
Over the past few weeks, he had learned to recognize the difference between Florence’s fear and her determination. This was different.
She looked terrified.
Detective Samuel returned to the living room after searching the compound.
“We lost him.”
Daniel sighed.
“How?”
“There was another vehicle waiting two streets away. Gilbert switched cars before our officers reached the gate.”
Samuel removed his cap in frustration.
“He planned every second of it.”
The paramedics had already taken Peter to St. Mary’s Hospital, while forensic officers photographed the shattered windows, the bullet holes, and the overturned furniture.
Mama Grace sat quietly on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket.
She looked exhausted.
Years of carrying a secret had finally begun to crush her.
Florence walked over and knelt beside her.
“Mama Grace…”
The elderly woman slowly raised her head.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For every lie.”
Florence swallowed hard.
“I don’t want apologies anymore.”
“I want the truth.”
Mama Grace lowered her eyes.
“I know.”
“But if I tell you everything tonight…”
“…many innocent lives will be in danger.”
Florence immediately thought of the anonymous message.
Her children.
Gilbert had already proven there was no line he wouldn’t cross.
Daniel joined them.
“I think we should leave.”
Florence frowned.
“Leave?”
“This house is no longer safe.”
Detective Samuel nodded in agreement.
“My officers can protect you tonight, but Gilbert now knows exactly where to find you.”
Mama Grace looked around the old house she had lived in for nearly forty years.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
“I never thought I would have to abandon this home.”
Daniel gently helped her to her feet.
“You’ll return.”
“When all of this is over.”
⸻
An hour later, the police escorted Florence, the children, Mama Grace, and Daniel to a government-owned safe house on the outskirts of the city.
The building was plain from the outside but heavily guarded.
Two armed officers stood at the entrance.
Another patrol vehicle remained parked across the street.
Inside, the children finally fell asleep after the exhausting night.
Angela refused to let go of Florence’s hand until she closed her eyes.
Watching them sleep made Florence’s heart ache.
Gilbert’s threat echoed relentlessly in her mind.
If you open Locker 27… your children will die first.
She slipped Peter’s folded note from her pocket.
The four-digit combination was still there.
She traced the numbers with her finger.
Whatever was inside that locker…
Gilbert feared it more than prison.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Daniel entered quietly.
“I thought you might still be awake.”
“I can’t sleep.”
“I didn’t think you could.”
He noticed the folded note in her hand.
“Did Peter give you that?”
Florence hesitated.
Then she nodded.
“He said the truth is inside Locker Twenty-Seven.”
Daniel remained silent for a moment.
“So that’s what Gilbert has been searching for.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
Florence looked at him sharply.
“What exactly are you hiding from me, Daniel?”
He sat opposite her.
“I’ve spent months investigating Gilbert.”
“I discovered that his crimes didn’t begin with your marriage.”
“They began long before he met you.”
Florence felt a chill.
“How long?”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Twenty-eight years.”
The number hit her like lightning.
The same number.
Again.
Everything led back to the year she was born.
Before she could ask another question, Detective Samuel entered the room carrying a sealed evidence envelope.
“We found this in Peter’s apartment.”
Daniel took it.
“What is it?”
“A diary.”
The room fell silent.
Samuel continued.
“It was hidden beneath loose floorboards.”
Daniel carefully opened the worn leather diary.
The first page contained only one sentence.
If anything happens to me, Florence must never trust the man called Victor.
Daniel frowned.
“Victor?”
Florence searched her memory.
“I don’t know anyone named Victor.”
Mama Grace, who had quietly entered the room unnoticed, suddenly gasped.
The color drained from her face.
“No…”
Daniel looked at her.
“You know that name?”
She slowly covered her mouth.
“I prayed…”
“…that I would never hear it again.”
Florence stood.
“Mama Grace…”
“Who is Victor?”
The elderly woman backed away until she reached the wall.
Her breathing became uneven.
“Victor isn’t just a man.”
“He’s the reason your life was stolen.”
Before anyone could question her further, an officer burst into the room.
“Sir!”
Detective Samuel turned.
“What is it?”
“The CCTV cameras outside have been hacked.”
“What?”
“We’ve lost every external camera.”
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire safe house was plunged into darkness.
Children began crying from the next room.
Someone outside screamed.
A gunshot echoed through the night.
Bang!
Emergency lights immediately switched on, bathing the corridors in a dim red glow.
An officer’s voice crackled frantically over the radio.
“Intruder!”
“Intruder inside the compound!”
Daniel instinctively moved in front of Florence.
Detective Samuel drew his pistol.
Every officer rushed toward the entrance.
Then…
The security alarm suddenly stopped.
The silence that followed was even more frightening.
A slow clap echoed from somewhere deep inside the building.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
A distorted voice came through the building’s public address system.
“Good evening, Florence.”
She froze.
It was Gilbert.
“I told you…”
“…there is nowhere you can hide.”
Then one final sentence echoed through every room of the safe house, turning every face pale.
“By the time you hear this…”
“…one of your children is already missing.”
- Writer
