Chapter 8

~Megan

The air crackled as my father’s voice sliced through the chaos, ordering the henchmen to stand down. “Let her go this instant,” he said, causing everyone to cease their actions..

My eyes, wide with disbelief, remained glued to him as he barked orders, revealing himself as the architect of our ordeal. Was the family’s financial despair so dire that he’d turned to crime? My mind buzzed with unanswered questions.

He dragged me aside, his eyes filled with urgency. “Look, Megan, I know you have questions, and I’ll answer them soon. But right now, you need to pull yourself together and get Charles to the hospital.”

His plea fell on deaf ears. I couldn’t tear my gaze from Charles’s unconscious form, a chilling horror gripping me. Not answering him, my father shook me. “Megan, snap out of it; this is not the time!”

Jerking back to reality, I was led out of the stuffy, dirty warehouse, freed and placed in the back of the van that brought us here with the knocked-out Charles. I could