Gunshot

Chapter 010.

Lola's POV 

Unknown Number: You still haven't paid me.

My heart skipped. I stared at the message, looking confused. Another message arrived almost immediately.

Unknown Number: Don't make me remind you again.

My fingers suddenly felt cold. I never expected the mistake I made to become my greatest nightmare. Something that threatened my peace.

I typed slowly.

"What do you want again?"

The reply came almost instantly.

Unknown Number: You know exactly what I want.

My heart ached. For a moment, I struggled to breathe. I could hear my heartbeat. 

Before I could respond, another message appeared.

Unknown Number: Pay the money on time, Lola, or I will expose you.

That's what kept taking away my peace. 

My eyes scanned the rooftop instinctively. There was nobody there.

I looked toward the door; it was empty. A strange chill crawled down my spine. For how long am I going to live this way?

Everything that happened back then wasn't intentional!

The next minute, another notification appeared.

This time, it was a picture.

I opened it, and my blood ran cold immediately. 

It was me at the mall.

The same day I had picked the dress for the blind date. I could see myself standing outside the fitting room, holding the shopping bags in both hands.

My face went pale. “How...?”

Before I could process it, another picture arrived.

It was me sitting inside the chicken restaurant before my interview.

My mouth fell open.

I remembered that day clearly. I had been sitting beside the window, enjoying my chicken and completely unaware that anyone was watching me.

Another picture appeared.

This time, I was standing outside Big T Company, clutching my bag while staring up at the building.

My hands started shaking.

They weren't random pictures. It was something that happened recently!

My phone vibrated again.

Unknown Number: Do you still think I'm joking?

I couldn't move.

Another picture appeared.

My heart nearly stopped. It was taken inside the columbarium. I stared at the image with trembling hands.

Mia and I were standing in front of Kelly's compartment.

I could see Kelly's picture behind us.

My throat went dry. That wasn't a public place, or somewhere I expected a stranger to photograph me.

Someone had followed me there. Someone had been watching me.

My fingers became numb around the phone.

Then another message appeared.

Unknown Number: I know where you go. I know who you meet. I know what you've been doing.

My breathing became shallow. I looked around the rooftop again, suddenly terrified that whoever had taken those pictures could be somewhere nearby.

Another message came through.

Unknown Number: Pay me on time, Lola. If you don't, you will be gone.

My stomach twisted violently, I couldn't tell if the threat meant my secret would be exposed or something much worse. I stared at the pictures again, my mind racing through every person I had met recently.

I swallowed hard and opened the keyboard. My fingers trembled as I typed the only question I could think of.

"Which location do you want us to meet?"

.....

The open range has a construction site looked nothing like a place where anyone should meet another person, especially not someone who had been threatening me for days. Half-built walls surrounded the abandoned property, piles of sand and broken concrete scattered across the ground, while the evening wind carried dust through the empty space. I stood near the entrance with the envelope of money clutched tightly against my chest, my fingers trembling so badly that I nearly dropped it.

My phone suddenly rang.

I froze.

For a few seconds, I simply stared at it, wondering if I could pretend I hadn't seen the call. 

With a shaky breath, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Are you there?"

The voice was distorted, making it impossible to tell whether I was speaking to a man or a woman.

“Yes.”

“You brought the money?”

I looked down at the bag hanging from my hand. Every dollar inside it represented hours of pretending, lying, and humiliating myself. I had worked until my body begged for rest. I had even accepted that ridiculous arrangement with Zack because the money was good enough to solve some of my problems.

All because I needed to pay this person. I've never been too greedy for money, it's the threat that put me under pressure. 

“Yes. I have it.”

“You better behave. Any little mistake will cost you a lot more.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“Please,” I whispered. “Just take the money and leave me alone.”

A low chuckle came through the speaker.

“You still don't understand. I'm not interested in your pleading. I'm interested in what you did.”

My breath caught.The one thing I had spent years trying to bury. If that secret became public, it wouldn't just ruin my job. It could destroy everything I had managed to build after losing my parents. The thought of people knowing what I had done made my throat close up.

“Where do you want me to go?”

“Keep walking.”

I followed the instructions until I reached an open stretch of the construction site. There was no one around. No workers. No cars. Nothing but unfinished buildings in an open range.

“Put the phone away,” the voice instructed. “Walk to the middle. Keep your back toward the building.”

I did exactly as I was told.

“Now drop the money.”

My hand loosened around the bag.

It fell onto the dusty ground.

“Walk away.”

I didn't need to be told twice.

I turned and started walking, trying not to run. My legs felt strangely weak, and every instinct inside me screamed that I should keep moving.

Then....

BANG!

The gunshot tore through the air. I ducked instinctively, a scream escaping my throat. “No!”

I ran.

I didn't know where I was going. I only knew I needed to get away. My shoes slipped against the loose sand as I pushed myself forward, tears spilling down my cheeks. I could barely hear anything except the violent pounding of my heartbeat and my own broken breathing.

They're going to kill me.

The thought kept repeating itself.

I stumbled behind a half-built concrete wall and crouched down, pressing one trembling hand over my mouth to silence my breathing.

Please don't find me.

Please.

I squeezed myself against the wall, trying to disappear into the darkness. Footsteps sounded somewhere nearby.

It was slow and heavy. Yet, it kept getting closer.

I held my breath.

The footsteps stopped.

For one fragile second, I thought I was safe.

Then I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

A scream tore from my throat as I spun around.

"Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"

The last thing I saw was a dark figure standing behind me.

Then everything went black.