CHAPTER ELEVEN — THE TRAP
1196 Words
ADRIAN'S POV
Midnight was approaching.
The old warehouse waited in darkness.
The same place where Ethan had been shot.
The same place where our family secrets had begun to surface.
And tonight, we were going back.
But this time, we weren't walking in blindly.
I parked two streets away.
Ethan sat beside me.
Amara was in the back seat, checking the small bag Adrian had given her.
“Are you sure this will work?” she asked.
“No.”
She looked at me.
“You could at least pretend to be confident.”
I almost smiled.
“Confidence gets people killed.”
Ethan looked out the window.
“We're getting Mom back.”
“Yes.”
“And Serena.”
I looked at him.
“Ethan…”
“What?”
“You need to be prepared for the possibility that Serena isn't on our side anymore.”
He shook his head.
“She wouldn't hurt Mom.”
“You don't know that.”
“I know her.”
I said nothing.
Because once upon a time, I had said the same thing about someone I trusted.
And that trust had nearly destroyed our family.
My phone vibrated.
One message.
COME ALONE.
I looked at Ethan.
“It's time.”
---
AMARA'S POV
We entered the warehouse through the back.
It was completely dark.
Too quiet.
Ethan walked beside me.
His hand found mine.
“You okay?”
“No.”
He smiled faintly.
“Me neither.”
I squeezed his hand.
“Then we'll be scared together.”
He looked at me.
“I don't know what I'd do without you.”
Before I could answer, a light flickered on.
We froze.
A voice echoed through the warehouse.
“You actually came.”
Marcus stepped out of the shadows.
Ethan immediately moved forward.
“Where is my mother?”
Marcus smiled.
“Straight to business.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Let me see her.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Ethan's fists tightened.
“You've been lying to me for years.”
“So have the people you love.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Tell me who killed my father.”
Marcus's smile disappeared.
“You're not ready.”
“I'm tired of hearing that.”
He pointed at Marcus.
“Tell me.”
Marcus looked at me.
Then at Adrian.
“You brought them.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You expected me to come alone?”
“No.”
Marcus sighed.
“I expected you to be smarter.”
Suddenly—
The warehouse doors slammed shut.
Amara gasped.
Lights switched on around us.
Men appeared on the upper level.
Guns pointed down.
Ethan looked around.
“You set us up.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
He looked behind us.
“Someone else did.”
Footsteps echoed through the warehouse.
Slow.
Calm.
Familiar.
My heart stopped.
A woman stepped out of the shadows.
Serena.
She wasn't tied up.
She wasn't frightened.
She was holding a gun.
And she was pointing it directly at Ethan.
---
ETHAN'S POV
“Serena?”
She stared at me.
Her eyes were cold.
Different from the woman I knew.
The woman I loved.
“Put the gun down,” I said.
She didn't move.
“Serena.”
“I'm sorry.”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
My heart cracked.
“Why are you doing this?”
She looked away.
“Because I have no choice.”
Amara stepped in front of me.
“Don't.”
Serena looked at her.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Serena's hand shook.
“I was ordered to bring Ethan here.”
“By who?” Adrian asked.
She looked at him.
“You already know.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Don't.”
Serena smiled sadly.
“You knew this day would come.”
Ethan looked between them.
“What are you talking about?”
Serena slowly lowered the gun.
Then she whispered:
“Your father didn't die because of Marcus.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“We know.”
Serena shook her head.
“No.”
She looked directly at him.
“You don't know the truth.”
Marcus suddenly stepped forward.
“Serena.”
She turned.
“Stay out of this.”
Marcus looked surprised.
“You're making a mistake.”
Serena laughed bitterly.
“That's what everyone keeps telling me.”
She looked at Ethan again.
“Your father wasn't murdered because he discovered someone was stealing from the company.”
Ethan's face changed.
“Then why?”
“Because he discovered the real secret.”
“What secret?”
Serena took a breath.
“Your father discovered that…”
A gunshot suddenly rang out.
BANG!
Serena dropped the gun.
She grabbed her shoulder.
“SERENA!”
Ethan ran toward her.
Adrian pulled him back.
“Don't!”
Another gunshot.
The lights went out.
Chaos erupted.
People screamed.
Guns fired.
Amara grabbed my hand.
“Ethan!”
“I have you!”
We ducked behind a large metal crate.
I heard Adrian shouting.
“Stay down!”
Then—
Silence.
The lights came back on.
Marcus was gone.
The men were gone.
Serena was on the floor.
Ethan rushed toward her.
“Serena!”
She was bleeding.
He pressed his hand against her shoulder.
“Who shot you?”
She looked at him.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
Ethan looked around.
“Where's Marcus?”
Adrian appeared behind us.
“Gone.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why did he leave her?”
Adrian stared at Serena.
“He didn't.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
Adrian pointed toward the floor.
A trail of blood led toward the back exit.
“But that's not Serena's blood.”
I stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
He crouched down.
Then picked up something from the floor.
A small piece of black fabric.
Adrian's face went pale.
“This belongs to the person who shot Serena.”
Ethan looked at him.
“And?”
Adrian stood.
“It's the same material from the night your father died.”
My heart stopped.
“Someone who was there that night is here now.”
Suddenly, Serena grabbed Ethan's wrist.
“Ethan…”
He looked at her.
“Listen to me.”
Her voice was weak.
“The person you're looking for…”
She struggled to breathe.
“…isn't hiding from you.”
“Then where are they?”
Serena looked toward the warehouse entrance.
“They've been beside you…”
She closed her eyes.
“…the whole time.”
Ethan looked at Amara.
Then Adrian.
Neither of them spoke.
And then—
A phone began ringing.
Everyone turned.
It was lying in the middle of the warehouse floor.
Ethan slowly walked toward it.
He picked it up.
One message appeared.
ASK ADRIAN WHAT HE DID AFTER YOUR FATHER DIED.
Ethan's eyes slowly lifted toward his brother.
“Adrian…”
Adrian didn't answer.
Ethan's voice hardened.
“What did you do?”
Adrian looked at him.
And for the first time—
He looked terrified.
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