Chapter 5 — Who Pulled the Trigger
1524 Words
ASK ADRIAN WHO PULLED THE TRIGGER.
Isabella stared at the screen.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
The message remained there, bright red against the black monitor.
Nobody spoke.
Then Cassandra whispered, “Shut it down.”
Adrian didn't move.
“Adrian.”
He was staring at the screen like he had just seen a ghost.
“Who is this?” Isabella asked.
Adrian's eyes remained fixed forward.
“I don't know.”
Cassandra laughed bitterly.
“You've always been a terrible liar.”
Adrian turned toward her.
“Not now.”
“Then tell her.”
Isabella looked between them.
“Tell me what?”
Cassandra stepped forward.
“The night your father disappeared, Adrian was in the room with him.”
“I know that.”
“No.” Cassandra shook her head. “You don't know the important part.”
The screen flickered.
A new message appeared.
THIRTY SECONDS.
Isabella's eyes widened.
“What happens in thirty seconds?”
Adrian suddenly grabbed her arm.
“We leave.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent that message wants us underground.”
A distant explosion shook the floor.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Cassandra grabbed the edge of the table.
“What was that?”
Adrian checked his weapon.
“Main entrance.”
Another explosion.
Then another.
The underground facility trembled.
Isabella looked at the sealed doors.
“They're attacking the estate.”
“No,” Adrian said.
He looked toward the security monitors.
“They're attacking the bunker.”
The screens changed.
One after another, security cameras went black.
Adrian cursed under his breath.
“They've cut the internal network.”
Cassandra's expression hardened.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
“Can we get out?”
Adrian looked at Isabella.
“There is one way.”
“Then take it.”
He ran toward the far wall and pulled a hidden lever.
A section of the floor opened.
A narrow staircase appeared beneath them.
Isabella stared.
“You people really love secret tunnels.”
“Your father built them,” Cassandra said.
“And you knew about them?”
Cassandra didn't answer.
Adrian pushed Isabella toward the stairs.
“Go.”
They descended.
Cassandra followed.
Behind them, the archive door shook violently.
Something hit it from the other side.
Once.
Twice.
Then the steel began to bend.
Isabella glanced back.
“How long will that door hold?”
Adrian didn't slow down.
“Not long enough.”
They reached the bottom.
A concrete tunnel stretched into darkness.
Adrian pulled a flashlight from his jacket.
The beam revealed old markings along the walls.
Isabella noticed one.
A black crown.
“What does that mean?”
“Your father's symbol.”
She touched it.
“Why is it here?”
“Because this wasn't just an escape tunnel.”
Adrian stopped.
“This was where Alexander moved people.”
“People?”
“Witnesses. Informants. People who needed protection.”
Cassandra suddenly spoke.
“And enemies.”
Isabella looked at her.
“You sound like you know this place very well.”
“I do.”
“Then why did you pretend not to?”
Cassandra's eyes hardened.
“Because some truths are dangerous even when they're buried.”
Before Isabella could respond, a gunshot echoed behind them.
Adrian immediately turned.
“Keep moving.”
Another shot.
Then footsteps.
Someone was coming.
Fast.
Adrian pushed Isabella toward the tunnel exit.
“Go!”
“What about you?”
“I'll handle them.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Isabella.”
“You keep telling me to run.”
She raised the gun Adrian had given her earlier.
“I'm not running anymore.”
For the first time, something almost like pride crossed his face.
“Then stay close.”
Three men appeared at the end of the tunnel.
Adrian fired.
The first fell.
The second fired back.
Cassandra shot him before Adrian could.
The third ran toward Isabella.
She froze.
The man raised his gun.
Adrian shouted.
“ISABELLA!”
She moved.
Not backward.
Forward.
She grabbed the man's wrist and slammed it against the wall.
The gun fell.
He swung at her.
She ducked.
Then drove her elbow into his ribs.
He staggered.
Isabella grabbed the gun from the floor.
The man reached for a knife.
She pointed the weapon at him.
“Don't.”
He smiled.
“You're Alexander's daughter.”
Isabella's finger tightened around the trigger.
“You know my father?”
The man laughed.
“Everyone knew your father.”
“Who sent you?”
His smile disappeared.
Then he looked at Adrian.
“You should ask him.”
The man suddenly bit down.
Adrian's eyes widened.
“Stop!”
Too late.
The man's body went limp.
Isabella stared.
“What did he do?”
“Poison capsule.”
Cassandra looked at Adrian.
“They're trained.”
Adrian nodded.
“Which means this isn't an ordinary attack.”
Isabella looked at the dead man.
“Then who are we fighting?”
Nobody answered.
They finally reached the end of the tunnel.
Adrian opened the exit.
They stepped into an abandoned warehouse several blocks from the estate.
Rain poured outside.
Blackridge City looked different from here.
Darker.
Colder.
Unfamiliar.
Isabella turned toward Adrian.
“Now you tell me.”
He said nothing.
“Who pulled the trigger?”
Adrian looked at Cassandra.
Cassandra's face was unreadable.
Isabella stepped closer.
“My father said you were lying.”
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
Then he finally spoke.
“I didn't pull the trigger.”
Isabella waited.
“I was ordered to.”
Her blood ran cold.
“By who?”
Adrian looked directly at her.
“Your mother.”
Silence.
Isabella shook her head.
“No.”
“She gave me the order.”
“No.”
“Alexander knew she had betrayed him.”
“My mother loved him.”
“I know.”
“Then why would she order you to kill him?”
Adrian's expression broke for the first time.
“Because she believed killing him was the only way to save you.”
Isabella stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“The Sovereign had found out about you.”
Her breathing became shallow.
“You were four years old.”
He continued.
“They knew Alexander had a daughter. They knew where you lived. They knew about your mother.”
Cassandra lowered her eyes.
“Alexander refused to give you up.”
Isabella looked at her.
“What happened?”
“Your mother made a choice.”
Adrian's voice was quiet.
“She told me to kill Alexander.”
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
“And you did?”
“No.”
She stared at him.
“You just said—”
“I couldn't.”
Adrian looked away.
“I couldn't kill him.”
“Then what happened?”
He swallowed.
“Your father asked me to help him disappear.”
Isabella's heart raced.
“Disappear?”
Adrian nodded.
“We staged his death.”
Cassandra suddenly stepped forward.
“That was the plan.”
Isabella looked at her.
“What plan?”
“To make The Sovereign believe Alexander was dead.”
Adrian continued.
“But something went wrong.”
“What?”
“The night we tried to escape…”
He stopped.
Isabella could barely breathe.
“What happened?”
Adrian looked toward the rain.
“Someone betrayed us.”
“Who?”
“We never found out.”
“But my father survived?”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“For a while.”
Isabella's heart jumped.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian turned back to her.
“Alexander made it out of the house alive.”
Hope flashed through her.
Then Adrian's next words crushed it.
“But he didn't make it out of Blackridge.”
Isabella stared at him.
“What happened to him?”
Adrian's phone suddenly rang.
Everyone froze.
The screen displayed a single name.
MARIA.
Isabella's breath caught.
Her mother's name.
Adrian stared at the phone.
Cassandra whispered, “That's impossible.”
The phone rang again.
Adrian answered.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a woman's voice came through.
Weak.
Distorted.
But unmistakably human.
“Adrian…”
His face went pale.
“Maria?”
Isabella stepped closer.
“Put it on speaker.”
Adrian did.
The woman's breathing was shaky.
Then she whispered four words.
“Isabella is not safe.”
Isabella's heart stopped.
Her mother's voice continued.
“Because they know…”
A sudden crackle interrupted her.
Then another voice came through.
A man's voice.
Cold.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Hello, Isabella.”
She froze.
The voice continued.
“You've been looking for your father.”
A pause.
“You should have been looking for me.”
The call ended.
Adrian stared at the dead screen.
Isabella slowly looked at him.
“Who was that?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Cassandra did.
Her face had lost all color.
“The man who killed Alexander.”
Isabella's blood turned cold.
“Who?”
Cassandra whispered one name.
“Victor Drake.”
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