CHAPTER NINE:THE PRICE ON HER HEAD
914 Words
The call lasted less than thirty seconds.
Selena lowered her phone slowly, her perfectly manicured nails trembling with rage.
"I want Aurora Blake dead."
She repeated the words in her mind.
Not because she enjoyed saying them.
Because she had no choice.
First Ariana had somehow slipped through her fingers.
Now another woman had appeared from nowhere and destroyed everything she had spent years building.
Coincidence?
Selena didn't believe in coincidences.
Aurora Blake knew too much.
Far too much.
She had to disappear.
Forever.
Aurora stepped out of Vale Biotech headquarters and inhaled deeply.
The cool afternoon breeze brushed against her face.
For the first time since waking in Dr. Evelyn's clinic, she felt a spark of hope.
She had done it.
The board meeting had been suspended.
Selena's promotion was blocked.
The investigation would begin.
It wasn't victory.
Not yet.
But it was the first c***k in the empire Selena had built on lies.
Ethan opened the rear door of the black sedan.
"You handled yourself well."
Ariana smiled faintly as she climbed inside.
"I thought my heart was going to explode."
"It almost showed."
She looked at him in surprise.
"It did?"
"For a second."
"When Damien thanked you."
Her smile faded.
She turned toward the window.
"I wasn't expecting that."
"You still love him."
She didn't answer.
The silence was answer enough.
Damien stood in the lobby, watching the black sedan disappear into traffic.
"Sir?"
Noah approached with a tablet in his hand.
"I've found something."
"What is it?"
"Not much."
"Which is exactly the problem."
Damien frowned.
"Explain."
"No university records before three years ago."
"No social media history."
"No family."
"No employment records before Europe."
"It's like Aurora Blake suddenly appeared out of thin air."
Damien's gaze remained fixed on the road.
"Keep digging."
"You think she's hiding something?"
Damien nodded slowly.
"Everyone hides something."
He slipped his hands into his pockets.
"The question is..."
"What?"
"Whether she's hiding a crime..."
"...or running from one."
Several miles away...
Inside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, a man cleaned a sniper rifle with practiced precision.
His phone vibrated.
A single photograph appeared on the screen.
Aurora Blake.
Below it was a message.
Target. Eliminate immediately.
The man studied the photograph for several seconds before deleting the message.
He stood.
Opened a metal case.
Inside were weapons arranged with military precision.
He selected a compact pistol instead.
"This one doesn't deserve a bullet from a distance."
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"I'll make it personal."
At the mountain estate, Dr. Evelyn welcomed Ariana home with a warm meal.
"You need to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"You have a baby depending on you."
That argument always worked.
Ariana smiled and picked up her fork.
Halfway through dinner, Ethan placed a small velvet box on the table.
"What's this?"
"A birthday present."
She looked at him curiously before opening it.
Inside lay a delicate silver necklace.
A tiny phoenix hung from the chain.
"It's beautiful."
"The phoenix rises from its own ashes."
He smiled.
"I thought it suited you."
Emotion tightened her throat.
"Thank you."
It was the first birthday gift she had received all day.
The first reminder that she wasn't completely alone.
That evening...
Selena sat alone in her penthouse.
The television replayed footage from the chaotic board meeting.
Financial experts speculated about corruption inside Vale Biotech.
Journalists questioned whether Selena had abused her authority.
Her reputation was collapsing by the hour.
She picked up a crystal glass and hurled it across the room.
It shattered against the wall.
Everything was falling apart.
Then her private phone rang.
She answered immediately.
"Tell me you found her."
"We did."
Her eyes lit up.
"Where?"
"We've identified the car she left in."
"What about Aurora?"
"We're following her."
Selena smiled for the first time that day.
"Good."
"This time..."
"...don't fail."
The next morning...
Ariana woke before sunrise.
She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
She stepped onto the balcony.
The valley below was peaceful.
Birds sang.
The mountains glowed beneath the early morning light.
Too peaceful.
Ethan emerged from the security room moments later.
His face was tense.
"What happened?"
"We picked up movement during the night."
He handed her a tablet.
Security footage played across the screen.
A figure dressed in black had climbed the outer fence.
The intruder reached the edge of the property...
Then suddenly stopped.
He looked toward one of the security cameras.
Almost as if...
He knew it was there.
Seconds later, he disappeared into the trees.
Ariana's heartbeat quickened.
"Did he get inside?"
"No."
"But he wasn't trying to."
"He was studying the property."
She looked at Ethan.
"You think he'll come back?"
"I know he will."
At that exact moment...
One of the security alarms blared through the estate.
Red warning lights flashed across every monitor.
Ethan rushed toward the control room.
Ariana followed close behind.
One camera showed the front gate.
It was empty.
Another showed the garden.
Nothing.
Then the final camera came into focus.
A black envelope rested on the front doorstep.
No one had seen who left it.
Ethan carefully retrieved it while another guard checked the area.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Three words.
YOU SURVIVED ONCE.
Beneath the message...
A single rifle bullet had been taped to the page.
Ariana felt the blood drain from her face.
Someone wasn't just looking for her anymore.
Someone knew exactly where she was.
- Writer
