The Message
1599 Words
AND WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
For a second, nobody moved.
The words remained on the screen, bright against the darkness of the room.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“They know,” I whispered.
Damien was already moving.
He pulled the laptop toward himself and studied the screen, his entire expression changing.
“Richard.”
Richard appeared in the doorway almost immediately.
“What happened?”
Damien pointed at the laptop.
Richard stepped closer.
His face hardened.
“How?”
“I don't know.”
Damien unplugged the flash drive.
The message disappeared.
He closed the laptop and stood.
“We're leaving.”
I stared at him.
“Leaving where?”
“Anywhere that isn't here.”
“But you said this place was safe.”
“It was.”
“That doesn't sound reassuring.”
“It isn't supposed to.”
A loud sound came from somewhere outside.
I froze.
Damien reached beneath his jacket.
“Elena,” I said.
Richard turned immediately.
“I'll get her.”
He disappeared down the hallway.
Damien grabbed my wrist.
“We have maybe two minutes.”
“Two minutes for what?”
“For them to get inside.”
My stomach dropped.
“How did they find us?”
His eyes met mine.
“The drive.”
“But it was hidden.”
“That doesn't mean it wasn't tracked.”
“Then why did you bring it here?”
“Because I needed to know what was inside.”
“And now they know we know.”
“Yes.”
A sharp c***k echoed through the house.
I jumped.
Richard shouted from somewhere behind us.
“Damien!”
Damien pulled me toward the hallway.
We ran.
Richard was carrying Elena down the stairs.
“What happened?” Damien asked.
“They came through the back.”
“How many?”
“I saw four.”
Four.
The word barely registered before another gunshot tore through the house.
Elena cried out.
Richard pulled her closer.
“There's a tunnel beneath the cellar.”
Damien looked at him.
“Does it still exist?”
“I hope so.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
Damien turned to me.
“Can you run?”
I nodded.
“Good.”
He took my hand.
We rushed toward the cellar.
Every step felt louder than the last.
The house was no longer silent.
Footsteps thundered above us.
Doors slammed.
Someone shouted.
Then another gunshot.
We reached the cellar door.
Richard pushed it open.
Cold air rushed against my face.
The cellar was almost completely dark.
Damien switched on his phone flashlight.
“Where's the tunnel?”
Richard pointed toward the far wall.
“There.”
I stared.
There was nothing there except old wooden shelves.
Richard moved them aside.
A narrow opening appeared behind them.
“You've got to be kidding me,” I whispered.
Damien looked at me.
“Apparently your family has a thing for hidden doors.”
“I've noticed.”
Elena went through first with Richard behind her.
Damien motioned for me to follow.
I stepped inside.
The tunnel was narrow and smelled of damp earth.
Richard pulled the shelves back into place behind us.
Darkness swallowed the entrance.
We started moving.
I could hear my own breathing.
Damien's hand remained around mine.
After several minutes, I whispered, “Where does this lead?”
“An old road behind the property.”
“Then what?”
“Then we disappear.”
“From who?”
“Everyone.”
I looked at him.
“You're not answering my questions.”
“Because I don't have all the answers.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I'm beginning to realize how much your father kept from me too.”
We continued walking.
Then Richard stopped.
Everyone nearly crashed into him.
“What?”
He raised one finger.
We listened.
Nothing.
Then came a faint sound.
A vibration.
My phone.
I pulled it from my pocket.
One notification appeared.
Unknown Number.
My blood ran cold.
Damien reached for the phone.
“Don't open it.”
I held it away.
“Why?”
“Because they want you to.”
The phone vibrated again.
Another message appeared.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE DRIVE WHERE YOU FOUND IT.
I stared at the screen.
“They're watching us.”
Damien looked at Richard.
Richard's jaw tightened.
“Can they track the phone?”
“Possibly.”
Damien looked at me.
“Turn it off.”
I pressed the power button.
Nothing happened.
I tried again.
The screen remained on.
“What the hell?”
Damien took it from me.
His expression changed.
“It's frozen.”
“Because of them?”
“I don't know.”
Another message appeared.
DON'T TRUST RICHARD.
I looked up.
Richard was standing several feet away.
His eyes were fixed on me.
“What did it say?” he asked.
I hesitated.
Damien looked at him.
“Nothing.”
Richard's expression hardened.
“Ariana.”
I swallowed.
“They said not to trust you.”
Silence filled the tunnel.
Elena looked between us.
Richard slowly lowered his eyes.
Damien stepped closer to me.
“Did they say anything else?”
I showed him the phone.
He read the message.
His face became unreadable.
Richard sighed.
“I knew this would happen.”
“What would happen?” I asked.
“You would eventually start questioning me.”
“Should I?”
He looked at me for a long moment.
“Yes.”
My heart sank.
Damien immediately reached for the gun at his waist.
“What are you saying?”
Richard raised both hands.
“I'm saying there are things Ariana needs to know.”
“Then tell her.”
Richard looked at me.
“Your father didn't trust me.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“He trusted me enough to protect you, but not enough to tell me everything.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
He stepped closer.
“Your father believed someone inside our family was working with the people behind Cross Security.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to understand why I kept you away from this.”
“You kept me away from everything.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Richard looked down.
“Because your mother asked me to.”
My breath caught.
“My mother?”
“She knew what was coming.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Before she disappeared?”
He nodded.
“What did she tell you?”
Richard's eyes moved toward Damien.
“That if anything happened to her, I was to keep you away from the Cross family.”
I looked at Damien.
“Why?”
Richard didn't answer.
Damien did.
“Because my family was involved.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
I stepped back.
“You knew?”
“Not everything.”
“But you knew something.”
“Yes.”
“And you still came after me?”
“I came because I promised your father.”
“You keep using my father's name like that explains everything.”
Damien looked at me.
“It doesn't.”
For once, there was no argument in his voice.
Just honesty.
My phone vibrated again.
All three of us looked at it.
A new message appeared.
ASK DAMIEN ABOUT THE NIGHT YOUR FATHER DIED.
I slowly turned toward him.
“What happened that night?”
Damien didn't speak.
“Damien.”
His eyes dropped.
“I was there.”
My heart stopped.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“With my father?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you ever tell me?”
“Because I couldn't.”
“Couldn't or wouldn't?”
He looked at me.
“Your father was dying.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“What happened?”
“He gave me the photograph.”
“The one with the key?”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
Damien's face hardened.
“He told me someone was coming for you.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I wish I was.”
A distant sound echoed through the tunnel.
Footsteps.
Someone had found the entrance.
Richard turned.
“We need to move.”
Damien grabbed my hand again.
This time, I didn't pull away.
We ran deeper into the darkness.
Behind us, the hidden door slammed open.
Someone shouted my name.
“Ariana!”
I recognized the voice.
My blood turned cold.
It was Elena.
I stopped.
Damien pulled me forward.
“Don't.”
I stared back into the darkness.
“That was her.”
“I know.”
“But she's here.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“She's with Richard.”
I looked ahead.
Richard was still running beside us.
Elena was nowhere in sight.
My stomach twisted.
“Then who was that?”
Nobody answered.
The footsteps behind us grew louder.
Then Elena's voice came again.
This time, it was closer.
“Ariana, don't trust Damien.”
I stopped breathing.
Damien looked at me.
And for the first time since I met him, I saw fear in his eyes.
“Keep running,” he whispered.
“Why?”
He tightened his grip on my hand.
“Because whatever is behind us isn't Elena.”
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