Chapter 11: Trapped
885 Words
The building shook violently.
Concrete cracked overhead.
Dust filled the air.
Ava could barely see.
Barely breathe.
"Ethan!"
"I'm here."
His hand tightened around hers.
Strong.
Steady.
Certain.
For the first time since entering the abandoned hospital, Ava felt a tiny sense of relief.
At least she wasn't alone.
Another explosion thundered somewhere below.
The floor trembled beneath their feet.
Ava's heart nearly stopped.
"We need to get out."
"We will."
His voice remained calm.
Too calm.
As if collapsing buildings were a minor inconvenience.
Ava almost laughed.
Almost.
Then part of the ceiling crashed beside them.
The laughter died instantly.
"Move!"
Ethan pulled her forward.
They ran through the darkness.
The emergency lights flickered weakly.
Red shadows stretched across the hallways.
Everything felt unreal.
Like a nightmare.
Another explosion echoed through the building.
This time Ava lost her balance.
The floor shifted beneath her.
She fell.
Hard.
Pain shot through her ankle.
A sharp cry escaped her lips.
Immediately Ethan stopped.
"What happened?"
"My ankle."
She tried to stand.
Couldn't.
The pain was immediate.
Intense.
Ethan's expression darkened.
Without a word, he crouched.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting us out."
Before Ava could argue, he lifted her into his arms.
The world tilted.
"Ethan!"
"Not now."
Ava opened her mouth.
Closed it again.
Because arguing seemed pointless.
The man was carrying her through a collapsing building.
Apparently that was happening.
---
Several minutes later they reached an emergency stairwell.
Fresh air drifted through broken windows.
Hope surged inside Ava.
"We're close."
Then gunshots echoed somewhere below.
Everything stopped.
Ava froze.
Ethan froze.
The sound came again.
Three shots.
Then silence.
Ava's blood ran cold.
"Tell me that wasn't—"
"It was."
Gunfire.
Inside the building.
Someone wasn't trying to scare them anymore.
Someone wanted them dead.
The realization settled heavily between them.
Ethan carefully lowered her onto a stair.
Then pulled a handgun from beneath his jacket.
Ava stared.
"You carry a gun?"
His expression remained focused.
"Sometimes."
"Of course you do."
Even now she couldn't stop herself.
Ethan actually looked amused.
For half a second.
Then the sound of footsteps echoed from below.
Both of them immediately became serious again.
Someone was coming.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Purposefully.
Ava's pulse hammered.
The footsteps grew louder.
Closer.
Closer.
Then a figure appeared.
A security officer.
One of Ethan's men.
Relief flooded Ava.
"Thank God."
The officer rushed toward them.
"Mr. Knight."
"What happened?"
"We intercepted two armed individuals trying to leave the building."
Ava swallowed.
Two.
Not one.
Two.
This wasn't random.
It was organized.
Planned.
Professional.
Exactly like everything else connected to the Black Crown.
"Did they talk?" Ethan asked.
The officer shook his head.
"No."
Of course not.
Nothing about this investigation was ever easy.
---
Outside, rain poured from the sky.
Police vehicles surrounded the hospital.
Ambulances waited nearby.
Reporters were already gathering.
Somehow they always appeared.
Like vultures.
The moment Ava stepped outside, photographers began taking pictures.
Flash.
Flash.
Flash.
The lights hurt her eyes.
"Ethan!"
"Mr. Knight!"
"Was the explosion an accident?"
"Are the rumors true?"
"What rumors?"
Nobody answered.
Security quickly pushed the crowd back.
Ava thought the nightmare was finally over.
Then she saw him.
Standing across the street.
Watching.
A man dressed entirely in black.
Motionless.
Silent.
The rain fell around him.
Yet he didn't move.
Didn't react.
Didn't look away.
A strange feeling settled inside Ava's stomach.
Fear.
Instinct.
Danger.
Something about him felt wrong.
Very wrong.
"Ethan."
He followed her gaze.
The moment he saw the man, his expression changed.
Immediately.
"Get in the car."
"What?"
"Now."
Ava didn't argue.
For once.
The urgency in his voice left no room for questions.
By the time they reached the vehicle, the man had disappeared.
Vanished.
Like he had never been there.
---
Back at the mansion, things became even stranger.
Ava expected exhaustion.
Relief.
Rest.
Instead she found chaos.
Security personnel filled the house.
Computers displayed surveillance footage.
Phones rang constantly.
The atmosphere felt tense.
One officer approached Ethan.
"We found something."
Everyone became still.
"What is it?"
The officer handed him a tablet.
Ethan studied the screen.
Then handed it to Ava.
Her blood ran cold.
The footage showed the entrance of the abandoned hospital.
Timestamped two hours before their arrival.
A woman appeared briefly on screen.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
Ava recognized her immediately.
The same woman from the old family photograph.
Victoria Knight.
Ethan's mother.
Alive.
Walking.
Real.
Ava looked up.
Speechless.
The room fell silent.
Because after twenty years of mystery...
After twenty years of questions...
After twenty years of believing she was gone...
They finally had proof.
Victoria Knight was alive.
And someone had been hiding her.
The problem?
The footage ended five minutes before Ethan and Ava arrived.
Meaning they had missed her.
By five minutes.
Five.
Ava looked at Ethan.
His jaw tightened.
His fists clenched.
For the first time, she saw something she had never seen before.
Hope.
Real hope.
Then the tablet vibrated.
A new message appeared.
Unknown sender.
Everyone stared.
Slowly, Ethan opened it.
The message contained a single sentence.
"If you want your mother alive, come alone."
And beneath it—
An address.
Ava's stomach dropped.
Because whoever sent the message wasn't hiding anymore.
They were inviting Ethan to a trap.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD