Valerie
536 Words
Episode 10:
Xavier didn't speak for almost an entire minute. Rain poured heavily outside the car while tension suffocated the atmosphere.
Finally, Amara whispered again:
"Who is Valerie?"
Xavier closed his eyes briefly, "my sister"
Amara breath caught "What happened to her?"
Silence...... then quietly "She died"
Pain filled every word, Amara's heart softened immediately.
"I'm sorry....."
Xavier stared out the window
"She died because of people connected to my family"
Amara suddenly remembered Bianca's warning "Once they notice you, they never let go".
Fear crawled slowly into her chest.
"Xavier,.... what exactly does your family do?"
He laughed bitterly
"You don't want the real answer".
"Tell me anyway"
But before Xavier could respond his phone rang.
Unknown Number, he answered immediately "What?"
The same voice from before laughed softly "You look nervous"
Xavier's expression became deadly
"If you come near her......, she reminds me of Valerie"
The line disconnected.
Amara felt cold instantly.
And Xavier looked ready to kill someone.
The heavy silence that followed the click of the disconnected phone was louder than the rain battering the roof of the car. Xavier’s chest heaved as he stared blankly at the dashboard, his hands trembling with a raw, murderous rage.
"Xavier..." Amara’s voice was barely a squeak. The cold dread that had taken root in her chest was now a paralyzing ice. "What did they mean? What did they mean about me reminding them of Valerie?"
Xavier didn't turn to look at her. He couldn't. The guilt eating him alive was too heavy. "When Valerie was taken," he started, his voice terrifyingly flat, "it wasn't just a random attack. It was a warning to my father. They watched her for weeks. They knew her routine. They knew exactly when she was unprotected because I... because I was too busy being careless."
He finally turned his head, and the utter hopelessness in his eyes made Amara want to shrink back into her seat.
"They are doing it again, Amara," he whispered, a tear finally cutting through his rigid expression. "They saw us at the restaurant. They followed you to the café. They know you are the only thing I care about right now, and they are using you to pull my father back into whatever sick game they are playing."
"Then we go to the police, Xavier! Your father has power, right? We tell them everything!" Amara pleaded, reaching out to grab his jacket, desperate for a solution.
Xavier let out another bitter, hollow laugh. "The police? Amara, my father’s business is the reason Valerie isn't here. Going to the authorities means exposing the family legacy. My dad would rather lock you and me in a bunker and let them hunt us than let his secrets out online."
Before Amara could reply, the headlights of a car flashed blindingly in Xavier's rearview mirror. A black sedan had slowly turned onto the street, its engine idling low and menacingly behind them.
Xavier’s eyes locked onto the mirror, his posture snapping back into a lethal focus. He shifted the car into drive, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.
"Hold on," he muttered, slamming his foot onto the accelerator as the tires screeched against the wet asphalt.
- Writer
