Chapter 7 — The Choice
1313 Words
Emily stared at the message on Alexander's phone.
BRING EMILY ALONE, OR LILY DIES.
Her heart seemed to stop.
“They want me.”
Alexander slipped the phone into his pocket.
“They want you to believe they have control.”
“They have my sister.”
“We don't know that they're the ones holding her.”
Emily looked at him in disbelief.
“You just said they found Lily.”
“I said someone found her.”
“Alexander, this is my sister we're talking about!”
“I know.”
His voice softened.
“And that's exactly why you're not going anywhere alone.”
Emily shook her head.
“If they hurt Lily because I refuse to go—”
“They won't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they need you alive.”
She stared at him.
The implication made her blood run cold.
“What do they want with me?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Then we need to find out.”
Alexander turned to Daniel.
“Where was Lily found?”
“An abandoned clinic in Red Hook.”
“Who's with her?”
“Paramedics and two officers.”
“Is the area secure?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We're going.”
Emily followed him.
---
The drive to Red Hook felt endless.
Emily sat silently, staring at Lily's bracelet in her hand.
Alexander glanced at her.
“You're blaming yourself.”
She looked at him.
“Shouldn't I?”
“No.”
“Victoria is doing this because of me.”
“She is doing this because of her obsession.”
“She wouldn't have targeted Lily if I hadn't entered your life.”
Alexander's expression tightened.
“You didn't ask to enter my life.”
Neither did I, his silence seemed to say.
Emily looked away.
After several minutes, she whispered, “Why me?”
Alexander looked at her.
“What?”
“Why did you hire me?”
He frowned.
“I needed an assistant.”
“You interviewed dozens of people.”
“I chose you.”
“Why?”
He was silent for a moment.
“Because you didn't try to impress me.”
Emily smiled faintly.
“I remember that interview.”
“So do I.”
“You were intimidating.”
“You weren't intimidated.”
“I was terrified.”
That surprised a laugh out of him.
Emily looked at him.
It was the first time she'd heard him laugh properly.
For a moment, the danger surrounding them disappeared.
Then his expression became serious again.
“You were honest.”
“That's why you hired me?”
“That's part of it.”
“What was the other part?”
Alexander looked into her eyes.
“I couldn't stop thinking about you after the interview.”
Emily's breath caught.
Neither spoke.
Daniel cleared his throat from the driver's seat.
“Sorry.”
Emily quickly looked away.
Alexander did the same.
The silence afterward felt different.
Warmer.
More dangerous.
---
They reached the abandoned clinic.
Police vehicles surrounded the building.
An ambulance waited outside.
Emily jumped out before the SUV had fully stopped.
“Lily!”
A paramedic hurried toward her.
“Are you Emily?”
“Yes.”
“Your sister is alive.”
Relief nearly brought Emily to her knees.
“Can I see her?”
“She hasn't regained consciousness yet.”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“Please.”
The paramedic nodded.
Inside the ambulance, Lily lay unconscious beneath a blanket.
Emily took her hand.
“Lily?”
No response.
“It's me.”
She brushed the hair away from her sister's face.
“I'm here.”
Alexander stood a few feet away.
Emily looked at him.
“She looks so helpless.”
He stepped closer.
“She'll recover.”
“How can you keep saying that?”
“Because I need you to believe it.”
Emily squeezed Lily's hand.
Then the paramedic noticed something.
“Wait.”
He reached beneath Lily's sleeve.
There was a small mark on her wrist.
A symbol.
Alexander immediately recognized it.
“What's wrong?” Emily asked.
“Nothing.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“You know what that is.”
Alexander hesitated.
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“A private security symbol.”
“Whose?”
“My father's old security company.”
Emily stared at him.
“Your father?”
Alexander's expression darkened.
“That company closed five years ago.”
Emily remembered the phone call.
Ask Alexander what happened five years ago.
Her stomach tightened.
“Alexander…”
He looked at her.
“What happened five years ago?”
Before he could answer, Lily suddenly stirred.
“Emily…”
Emily leaned closer.
“I'm here.”
Lily's eyes opened slightly.
Her lips trembled.
“Don't…”
“Don't what?”
“Trust…”
Her eyes moved toward Alexander.
Then she whispered:
“Victoria.”
Emily froze.
Alexander's expression became stone.
“What did she do?” Emily asked.
Lily struggled to speak.
“She…”
Her eyes closed again.
“Lily!”
The paramedic checked her pulse.
“She fainted again.”
Emily looked at Alexander.
“You heard her.”
“Yes.”
“She said Victoria.”
“I heard.”
“Then she did this.”
Alexander didn't answer.
Emily stood.
“I knew it.”
“Emily.”
“I knew it!”
Her voice cracked.
“She warned me. Then Lily disappeared. Now Lily says her name.”
Alexander stepped toward her.
“We need evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“Yes.”
“You're still protecting her?”
“No.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Protecting you.”
Emily stared at him.
“From Victoria?”
“From everyone.”
Before she could respond, Alexander's phone rang.
He answered.
“Sterling.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
A pause.
“Where?”
He listened again.
“Don't touch anything. I'm on my way.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” Emily asked.
“They found the man who took Lily.”
“Where?”
“He was dead.”
Emily's face went pale.
“Dead?”
Alexander nodded.
“Someone killed him before the police could question him.”
“Victoria?”
“I don't know.”
“But whoever did it is covering their tracks.”
“Yes.”
Alexander looked at Lily.
Then at Emily.
“We're leaving.”
“Why?”
“Because this hospital is no longer safe.”
Emily frowned.
“She just woke up.”
“Exactly.”
A sudden crash came from outside.
Everyone turned.
The clinic lights went out.
Emily grabbed Alexander's arm.
“What was that?”
His security team shouted from the hallway.
“Mr. Sterling!”
A gunshot echoed outside.
Emily screamed.
Alexander immediately pulled her behind him.
“Stay down.”
Another shot shattered a window.
The paramedics dropped to the floor.
Alexander looked toward the ambulance.
“Get Lily inside.”
Two officers rushed toward her.
Emily followed.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
YOU WERE WARNED.
A second message arrived.
NEXT TIME, WE WON'T MISS.
Emily looked up at Alexander.
He saw the messages.
His face became cold.
Then a third message appeared.
AND ALEXANDER CAN'T SAVE YOU FOREVER.
Emily's fingers began trembling.
Alexander took the phone from her.
His eyes hardened.
“This ends tonight.”
But neither of them noticed the figure standing on the rooftop across the street, watching through a rifle scope.
The figure lowered the weapon.
Then made a phone call.
“She got the message.”
A woman's voice answered.
“Good.”
Victoria smiled.
“Now let's see how long Alexander can keep playing hero.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
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