CHAPTER 5
1225 Words
Chapter 5
Dante's Point of View
The elevator doors close and Elara is gone. I sit at my desk staring at the empty space where she was. The man with the gun keeps it pointed at me.
"Boss said to wait ten minutes," he says. "Then I let you go."
Ten minutes. Elara will be miles away by then. I look at the clock on my desk. The numbers blur together.
"Why are you helping her?" I ask.
The man shrugs. "Money. Your sister pays well."
"I'll pay you more."
"Too late for that."
I count the seconds. My hands shake on the desk. Every part of me wants to jump up and fight, but the gun stays pointed at my chest.
Finally, the man looks at his watch. "Time's up." He puts the gun away and walks to the elevator.
The moment the doors close, I grab my phone and call Trent.
"They took her," I say before he can speak.
"Who took who?"
"Abigail took Elara. She's gone."
"Slow down. Tell me what happened."
I tell him everything. About DNA theft. About the planned assault. About Abigail's threats.
"Jesus Christ," Trent says when I finish. "Your sister has lost her mind."
"Can you track them?"
"Maybe. Abigail's phone is probably off, but her car might have GPS. Give me five minutes."
While I wait, I pace around my office. The chair Elara sat in is turned over. There's blood on the floor from the man I hit. Everything looks broken.
My phone rings.
"Found them," Trent says. "They're heading north on Highway 12. Looks like they're going to that old warehouse district."
"Text me the address."
"Dante, wait. You can't just walk in there. She has armed men with her."
"I don't care."
"I care. You're my best friend and I'm not letting you get killed over this."
"Then help me."
Trent is quiet for a moment. "Okay. But we do this smartly. Meet me at my place. I have some things that might help."
Twenty minutes later, I'm at Trent's apartment. He opens the door holding a black bag.
"What's in there?" I ask.
"Things left over from my army days." He sets the bag on his kitchen table. "Body armor. Night vision. And this."
He pulls out a gun.
"I can't ask you to."
"You're not asking. I'm offering." Trent puts on a bulletproof vest. "Besides, I never liked your sister."
We drive to the warehouse district in Trent's car. The area is full of old buildings that no one uses anymore. Most of the streetlights are broken. It's the perfect place to hide someone.
"There," Trent points to a building with lights in the windows. "That's where the GPS signal stopped."
We park two blocks away and walk closer. The building is big and old. There are three cars outside, including Abigail's black SUV.
"How many men does she have?" Trent whispers.
"Three, plus her."
"Okay. You go in the front. I'll go around back. When I'm in position, I'll text you."
"What if something goes wrong?"
"Then we improvise." Trent checks his gun. "But nothing's going wrong. We're getting Elara out of there."
I watch him disappear around the corner. My phone buzzes five minutes later.
*Ready. Give me two minutes, then go.*
I count to one hundred and twenty. Then I walk to the front door.
It's locked, but the lock is old and rusty. I kick it hard and it breaks open.
"Dante!" Abigail's voice comes from somewhere inside. "How nice of you to join us!"
I follow her voice through dark hallways. The building smells like rust and old water. My footsteps echo off the walls.
I find them in a big room at the back. Abigail sits in a chair like a queen. Elara is tied to another chair across from her. She looks scared but not hurt.
Two men stand guard. I don't see the third one.
"Let her go," I say.
"I don't think so." Abigail smiles. "But I'm glad you're here. Now we can finish this properly."
"What do you want?"
"I want you to sign these papers." She holds up a folder. "They say you give up all rights to the baby. That you'll never see Elara or the child again."
"And if I don't?"
"Then accidents happen." She nods to one of her men. He puts a gun against Elara's head.
Elara's eyes meet mine. She's trying to be brave, but I can see her shaking.
"Okay," I say. "I'll sign."
"No!" Elara shouts. "Don't do it!"
"Shut up," the man with the gun says.
"Don't talk to her like that." I take a step forward.
"Stay where you are," Abigail says. "Sign the papers first."
She puts the folder on a table between us. I walk over and pick up the pen.
"Smart boy," she says.
I look at the papers. They're full of legal words I don't understand, but the meaning is clear. If I sign this, I lose everything. Elara loses everything.
"You know what the funny thing is?" I say, still holding the pen.
"What?"
"I never wanted kids. Never wanted a family. I thought love was for weak people."
"Then this should be easy."
"It would be. Except..." I look at Elara again. "I was wrong about love. And I was wrong about being weak."
I throw the pen across the room. "I'm not signing anything."
Abigail's face goes red with anger. "Then she dies."
"No, she doesn't."
"The gun is pointed at her head, Dante."
"Look again."
Abigail turns. The man who was holding the gun is on the floor. Trent stands behind him, holding the gun now.
"Sorry I'm late," Trent says. "Had to take care of your third guy first."
The other man reaches for his weapon, but I'm faster. I punched him hard in the stomach. He falls down next to his friend.
Abigail backs away from us. "This isn't over."
"Yes, it is." I walk toward her. "You're done hurting people."
"You can't prove anything. It's your word against mine."
"Actually, we can prove everything." Trent holds up his phone. "I've been recording this whole conversation. Amazing what technology can do these days."
Abigail's face goes white. She looks around the room like a trapped animal.
"The police are already on their way," Trent says. "I called them before we came in."
"You're my brother," Abigail says to me. "You can't let them arrest me."
"You stopped being my sister the moment you hurt Elara."
I go to Elara and untie the ropes around her hands. She falls into my arms, shaking.
"Are you okay?" I whisper.
"I am now."
I hold her close, feeling her heartbeat against my chest. For the first time in my life, I understand what it means to love someone more than yourself.
"Dante," she says quietly.
"Yeah?"
"There's something you need to know about the baby."
"What?"
She pulls back to look at me. Her eyes are serious and scared.
"When they brought me here, Abigail made me see a doctor. She wanted to make sure the baby was healthy."
"Okay."
"The doctor did some tests. And he found something."
My heart stops. "What kind of something?"
"I'm not just having one baby, Dante." Her voice is barely a whisper. "I'm having twins.”
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