He Is Alive
1376 Words
The front door gave a low creak.
Holly froze in place.
She spun around quickly, tucking the black card away with her left hand while her right elbow swept across her face, wiping away both tears and sweat in one motion.
“Hide it. Hide it,”
she muttered under her breath, letting the phone slip onto the couch and crouching behind the armchair just as more lights in the living room flickered to life.
Her chest felt tight as she fumbled to shove the business card into her pocket, but her hands trembled too violently to cooperate.
Drake’s voice sliced through the quiet, edged with amusement.
“Having conversations with yourself now, Holly? That’s a first.”
She didn’t reply. She couldn’t. Her heart thundered so loudly she was certain he could hear it.
Her breathing hitched as heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Drake was back inside.
Their eyes met, but his expression darkened as his gaze drifted down to his phone.
“Sorry to interrupt your little self-pity moment. I came back for my jacket—didn’t you know it’s freezing outside?”
He said it slowly, lifting his eyes with a smirk. His tone matched the coldness in his actions.
Holly gave a small nod, wetting her lips before letting out a shaky sigh.
“Right. Go ahead.”
She murmured it, crawling toward the scattered items on the floor and gathering them one by one, tossing them into her bag without lifting her head.
While she did, Drake watched her, his expression like someone trying to piece together what she’d been up to. Then he glanced around and let out a laugh.
A cold, cruel laugh.
“What’s all this? Had a little breakdown?”
He asked, and this time Holly looked up, her gaze distant and hollow.
She said nothing, dropping her eyes again as she continued collecting her things from the floor.
Holly shut her eyes tight, a shaky breath of relief slipping out before she straightened and kept packing.
The couch shifted.
The moment it moved, Drake’s eyes flicked to the phone, and a frown crossed his face.
He leaned over her slowly, his cologne thick in the air, suffocating.
Just as Holly tried to stand, he seized her by the shoulder and shoved her back down hard.
She winced, pain shooting through her as her hand flew to her back. Her eyes squeezed shut, a muffled sound escaping from her lips.
“Give it up, Holly. We need to talk about what you were doing with that phone.”
She held her breath.
Then—
Her phone buzzed.
Once.
As he stepped closer, she shuffled backward, her hands shielding the phone.
She knelt on a lipstick tube, the sharp edge digging painfully into her skin, but even that didn’t compare to the look in Drake’s eyes.
Then, without warning, her phone rang loudly.
He reached for it immediately, and a message popped up next.
Right there on the couch, beside where Drake stood.
Holly’s eyes flew open.
Drake’s head snapped down as he yanked her up this time and snatched the phone from her grasp. Her back slammed painfully against the metal edge of the chair.
She groaned, trying to push herself up, but her legs felt weak and gave out.
On the screen, glowing in the dim light, was a text preview:
Attorney Caleb Morgan:
Got your location. Be there at 8. Remember, make sure he’s kept in the dark and don’t say anything to anyone until we meet.
Drake’s expression went blank.
Then his hand shot out and grabbed the phone.
Holly scrambled to her feet, panic rising in her throat.
She reached out with trembling hands.
“Give that back!” she screamed.
But he didn’t. He read it.
And then he smiled.
Not the polite, controlled smile he showed in public.
Something darker. Something real. Something vicious and raw.
“So that’s it,”
He murmured.
“You found a lawyer. And you thought you could keep him from me? Really? After everything we’ve been through, you want to take back what belongs to both of us?”
“What belongs to both of us? You’re out of your mind! I built that company from the ground up—it has my name written all over it! It’s mine, not ours!”
She shouted back, but he only laughed, pacing like he was lecturing a classroom.
“You know, I always knew you weren’t the sharpest, but I didn’t realize you were this selfish and dumb too.
Yes, it’s true you started that company before we even met, but have you forgotten what I did for you?”
Holly’s eyes widened, her hand falling to her side as tears welled up.
“Don’t! Don’t you dare bring that up again. That’s in the past! And I gave you what you wanted, didn’t I?
I put your name on my business, on everything I owned. Wasn’t that the deal? So why were you greedy enough to try and take it all from me?”
She said it quickly, brushing away the tear that slipped down her cheek.
He sighed, cold and deliberate, as he slid the phone into his pocket.
“Because I earned it, you i***t! Wait—let me ask you something.
In all our years of marriage, did you actually think I loved you? For God’s sake, Holly, you’re no saint. I cheated on my ex with you and stayed. Did you really think that made you the winner?”
“No! I asked you over and over if you wanted to go back to her, but you said no! You told me I was the love of your life!”
“I lied, you i***t!!!”
He cut her off, shouting.
“All this time I’ve been with her. Don’t get me wrong, I did think about leaving you because Valerie is my life.
But once we saw everything you owned, how could I ever walk away? My dear, you were our golden ticket. We had to keep you happy long enough to take what was rightfully ours. Thank God you never gave me a kid. That would’ve made this mess even worse, don’t you think?”
He smirked, and a defeated, hollow smile spread across her lips.
She fell silent, unsure what to say as he paced, tapping his chin like he’d just received some divine plan.
“You know what, this works out. But I need to show you something before you go running off to meet your lawyer.”
Holly frowned. “What—”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a whisper.
“They found your father.”
The room felt like it dropped ten degrees.
Holly’s knees nearly buckled.
“What did you say?”
Drake’s smile stretched wider.
“I said, they found your father. He’s alive. And he’s talking.”
He leaned in, close enough that she could smell the coffee on his breath from earlier.
Holly shook her head frantically, backing away until her spine hit the wall.
“No. He’s dead. You told me he was dead. We buried him! You made sure of it!”
She screamed, but he just shrugged, unbothered.
“I lied.”
She clapped her hands over her ears, pacing in distress.
“No, no you’re lying! You’re lying!”
She cried out, but he laughed, slipping his hands into his pocket for his phone.
He scrolled through his videos and clicked on one before walking toward her.
As Holly watched, hot tears spilled down her cheeks and she clutched at her pants in fear.
On the screen were two tall, built men standing beside a broken, bloodied man.
Someone beaten to a pulp.
Someone familiar.
Her father.
The moment he looked up, she covered her face, but Drake grabbed her wrist and forced her to keep watching.
His eyes locked on hers, wide with panic and betrayal.
In that instant, Holly’s world tilted.
Drake laughed.
“Eight o’clock, Holly? All I need is thirty seconds to make him talk. Actually, five seconds—he’s been eager to talk for a while now.
So what’s it going to be? Your father’s life or jail?”
- Writer
