CHAPTER 7
701 Words
THE TRAP
The message was only six words.
Come alone if you want him alive.
Silence swallowed the SUV.
Clara read the message, over and over.
Her father's phone number.
His voice.
His words.
It had to be him.
“I'm going”.
Lucien didn't even look up.
“No”.
She frowned.
“I wasn't asking."
“And I wasn't giving permission.
She laughed bitterly.
“You think you owe me already?”
Lucien closed the file in his hand.
“I think you're emotional."
“My father is alive."
“I know”.
“And you expect me to sit here."
“Yes”.
Her patience snapped.
“You really are a heartless bastard."
Marco shifted awkwardly in the front seat.
Nobody spoke to Lucien like that.
Lucien's expression never changed.
“i’ve heard worse”.
She reached for the door handle.
Locked.
“Open it”.
Lucien didn't say a word.
“I'll break this door."
Bulletproof.
She slammed her fist against the glass.
“I HATE YOU!”
Lucien remained silent.
That only made her angrier.
Twenty minutes later….
The convoy stopped outside an abandoned cathedral.
No guards.
No lights.
Just silence.
Clara frowned.
“This isn't the location."
“It isn't”.
“Then why are we here?”
Lucien stepped out of the vehicle.
“Because…”
He adjusted his cufflinks.
“...the person who sent that message isn't your father."
She stared.
“What?”
“It was sent from his phone.”
“Exactly… A phone can be stolen."
Her heartbeat slowed.
No…
No…
That hadn't even crossed her mind.
Lucien continued walking toward the cathedral.
“Whoever wants you there, expects you to panic."
She hated that he made sense.
Suddenly a phone rang…
Not Lucien's.
Not Marcos.
Hers.
Unknown number.
She answered immediately.
“Dad?”
A weak voice came through.
“Clara…”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Dad! Where are you?”
“I'm sorry”.
His breathing was ranged.
“I shouldn't have involved you."
“Dad, tell me where you are!”
A loud crash echoed through the phone.
Then another voice.
Cold.
Mocking.
“I told you to come alone."
The line went dead.
Clara froze.
She looked at Lucien.
“I am going”.
“No”.
“This time it's really him."
“I know”.
“Then why are you stopping me?”
Lucien walked closer.
Until only inches separated them.
His voice was low.
“Because he wants you alive.”
She frowned.
“What?”.
“The people holding your father don't…”
For the first time…
A flicker of uncertainty crossed her face.
Before she could respond…
A black drone descended from the sky.
It hovered directly above them.
Marco looked up
“What the…”
The drone dropped a small package.
It hit the ground with a full thud.
Everyone instinctively stepped back.
Lucien didn't.
He stared at it.
The package was wrapped in brown paper.
One word was written across the top.
CLARA.
Marco slowly cut the string.
Inside…
A single white rose.
Its stem was stained with blood.
And beneath it.
A folded note.
Lucien unfolded it.
His eyes narrowed.
“What does it say?” Clara demanded.
He handed her the note without a word.
Her hands trembled as she read.
You have one hour.
Come alone…
….. Or the next package will contain your father's head.
The white rose slipped from her fingers.
She looked up.
The drone was already disappearing into the clouds.
Silence.
Heavy.
Terrifying.
Then she did the one thing Lucien didn't expect.
She ran.
Straight into the darkness.
“CLARA!”
Marco shouted.
Lucien didn't.
He simply looked at the road ahead.
Then spoke one calm sentence that made every Moretti guard move.
“Nobody fires”.
Marco blinked.
“What?”
“If they want her alive…”
Lucien's eyes hardened.
“.... they'll lead us straight to their leader.”
He got into the SUV.
“Follow her”.
“But stay out of sight.”
The engine roared to life.
The hunt had begun.
- Writer
