THE SNIPER
906 Words
DANGEROUS OBSESSION
Episode 5:
The red laser dot rested directly over Elena’s heart.
For a split second, everything froze.
The screams.
The chaos.
The shattering glass.
Everything.
Elena stared at the tiny red light dancing on her chest.
Her mind refused to process what was happening.
Someone was trying to kill her.
Someone she had never seen.
Someone she didn’t even know.
Then Damien moved.
Fast.
Faster than she’d ever seen anyone move.
He rolled on top of her, shielding her body with his own.
BANG!
The gunshot exploded through the ballroom.
The bullet struck the marble floor where Elena had been standing seconds earlier.
Guests screamed.
People dove beneath tables.
Security guards rushed toward the broken windows.
The ballroom transformed into a battlefield.
Damien’s arm tightened around Elena.
“Stay down.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
As though bullets flying through the air were an everyday inconvenience.
Another gunshot echoed.
BANG!
A security guard cried out in pain.
Blood splattered across the polished floor.
Panic erupted.
The crowd surged toward the exits.
Everyone wanted out.
Everyone wanted to survive.
Everyone except Damien.
He wasn’t running.
He wasn’t hiding.
He was hunting.
His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the shattered windows.
The laser sight disappeared.
The sniper had moved.
“Find him.”
Damien’s command echoed across the room.
Immediately, dozens of men in black suits appeared.
Elena hadn’t even noticed them before.
They seemed to materialize from nowhere.
Private security.
Highly trained.
Highly armed.
Highly dangerous.
“Yes, sir.”
Within seconds, they rushed from the ballroom.
Damien looked down at Elena.
“Are you hurt?”
The concern in his voice surprised her.
Especially after everything she’d witnessed tonight.
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“I’m okay.”
Damien exhaled slowly.
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly.
As if her answer mattered.
Far more than it should.
Then he helped her stand.
The moment she was on her feet, anger exploded inside her.
“What is happening?”
Damien remained silent.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Still silence.
“People are trying to kill me!”
Her voice echoed through the damaged ballroom.
“Why?”
Damien’s jaw tightened.
The muscles in his neck flexed.
Clearly fighting something.
A decision.
A secret.
A truth.
Before he could answer—
One of his men rushed back inside.
“Sir.”
Damien immediately turned.
“What happened?”
The man’s expression was grim.
“The sniper escaped.”
Damien’s eyes darkened.
“How?”
“We found his position.”
The guard hesitated.
“But he was already gone.”
Damien looked furious.
Terrifyingly furious.
“And?”
The guard swallowed hard.
“He left something behind.”
From his pocket, the guard produced a silver necklace.
Elena froze.
The moment she saw it.
Her heart stopped.
No.
Impossible.
Her trembling fingers reached for the necklace.
The silver butterfly pendant.
The tiny crack along one wing.
The engraved initials.
It couldn’t be.
It absolutely couldn’t be.
Because she recognized it.
Immediately.
This necklace belonged to her mother.
The necklace her mother had been wearing on the day she died.
The necklace that disappeared after the accident.
The necklace that police never found.
Elena’s hands shook violently.
“Where did you get this?”
The guard looked at Damien.
Not her.
Damien’s expression became unreadable.
“Answer her.”
The guard nodded.
“It was found at the sniper’s location.”
The room spun around Elena.
Her mother’s necklace.
At the sniper’s location.
That wasn’t possible.
Unless—
Her breathing became uneven.
Unless Damien was right.
Unless her parents hadn’t died in an accident.
Unless someone had murdered them.
The realization hit like a truck.
For years she’d mourned.
For years she’d accepted fate.
For years she’d believed a lie.
Tears filled her eyes.
“My parents…”
Damien stepped closer.
“They were murdered.”
This time his voice was gentle.
Not cold.
Not commanding.
Gentle.
The truth hurt.
But somehow the gentleness hurt more.
Because it made her believe him.
A lump formed in her throat.
“Who did it?”
Damien looked away.
For the first time.
Actually looked away.
As though he didn’t want to answer.
As though the truth was worse than she imagined.
Then suddenly—
The ballroom lights went out.
Everything went black.
Screams erupted instantly.
Someone grabbed Elena’s arm.
Hard.
Too hard.
She gasped.
“Damien!”
No answer.
The hand yanked her backward.
Through the darkness.
Away from the ballroom.
Away from safety.
Away from Damien.
Panic exploded inside her.
She struggled.
Kicked.
Fought.
But whoever held her was strong.
Very strong.
A rough voice whispered into her ear.
“We finally found you.”
Elena’s blood turned cold.
The voice wasn’t Damien’s.
It wasn’t security.
It wasn’t anyone she knew.
The stranger dragged her deeper into the darkness.
And then—
A second voice echoed nearby.
Cold.
Deadly.
Terrifying.
“Take another step.”
Silence followed.
The darkness itself seemed to tremble.
The stranger froze.
Elena recognized that voice immediately.
Damien.
And judging by the fear that suddenly gripped her attacker…
The man holding her was far more afraid of Damien Blackwood than he was of getting caught.
TBC
Who kidnapped Elena in the darkness? Why did the sniper leave her mother’s necklace behind? And what terrifying reputation does Damien Blackwood have that can make hardened criminals freeze in fear?
- Writer
