Chapter 4: The Last Person She Had

Azrielle's POV

The cold ground outside the burning apartment felt solid against my back as I coughed up the thick soot, my dad was lying right next to me on the grass while the distant sirens wailed, his clothes completely covered in ash because he had managed to break through the back door just before the roof fell in, his breathing was incredibly shallow and heavy as the paramedics rushed over to lift him onto a stretcher. 

They shoved us both into the back of a large ambulance and drove fast toward the county hospital, and the doctors immediately wheeled him into a private room with a plain table and two chairs, where they hooked him up to an oxygen machine while I stood right beside his bed, gripping his burnt hand as tightly as I could.

"Azrielle, listen to me very carefully because we don't have much time left, those people who chained the front door from the outside were not just angry sports fans," my dad whispered, pulling off his oxygen mask with a trembling hand while his eyes looked incredibly dark and terrified as he stared up at me.

"Dad, please keep the mask on, you need to rest and let the doctors take care of you," I said, tears spilling over my cheeks as I tried to press the plastic mask back onto his face, but he pushed my hand away with surprising strength and shook his head back and forth.

"No, you need to know the truth right now because someone has been actively hunting our family for years, I have kept one massive secret from you ever since you were a baby to keep you safe from them," he said, his voice cracking with emotion as he held my fingers tightly, and he added, "Your biological father didn't just disappear, Azrielle, he was murdered because of what he found, and the people responsible are still trying to erase any trace of his research."

"What are you talking about, Dad, who is hunting us?" I asked, my mind completely spinning from his words because I had never known anything about my real parents, but before he could even open his mouth to explain the secret, the heavy wooden door of the hospital room burst open, three tall men dressed in dark tactical gear and masks walked straight inside, carrying heavy handguns in their gloved hands.

"Don't move or make a single sound," the first masked man ordered, pointing his weapon directly at my chest while the other two quickly closed the door behind them and clicked the lock into place, making the small hospital room feel like a trap.

"Who are you people, we are waiting for the police," I shouted, stepping right in front of my dad's bed to shield him from the weapons, but the leader just stepped forward and grabbed me roughly by the arm, throwing me back against the plain table in the corner.

"We are the ones asking the questions, old man, so tell us where the brass key is hidden right now or this girl doesn't leave this room alive," the masked man barked, turning his gun toward my dad's face while his partner started tearing the room apart, throwing the medical supplies and papers all over the floor.

"I don't have any key, I don't know what you are talking about, leave my daughter alone and get out of here," my dad shouted, his voice ringing out loudly through the small space as he tried to sit up on the mattress to protect me.

"Wrong answer," the leader said, his finger tightening on the trigger, before I could even scream or jump across the room to stop him, a loud bang echoed through the walls, and a small red spot appeared on my dad's chest as he collapsed back onto the white pillows.

"No, Dad, no," I screamed, throwing myself over his body while the three masked men heard the sound of footsteps running down the outer hallway, causing them to curse loudly under their breath and sprint out through the back emergency exit before anyone could catch them.

I pressed my hands hard against his chest to stop the bleeding, but his eyes were already starting to lose their light, he used his very last bit of strength to lift his arm and press a cold, old brass key right into the center of my palm, closing my fingers over it tightly.

"Don't trust anyone, Azrielle, you have to run and stay hidden from the public eye," he gasped out, his voice fading into a tiny whisper as he looked right into my eyes, and his final words were, "Especially the Kingsleys, they are behind everything."

His hand fell completely limp against the sheets, his eyes went wide and vacant as the heart monitor beside the bed let out a long, continuous beep, I fell onto his chest, sobbing hysterically and screaming his name over and over while the room filled up with nurses and doctors who tried to pull me away from his body.

But the door opened again and three uniform police officers pushed their way through the medical staff, and instead of chasing after the masked men who had just destroyed my entire life, the biggest officer grabbed my wrists and pulled them behind my back, clicking a heavy pair of metal handcuffs around my skin.

"Azrielle Ashwyn, you are under arrest for arson and first-degree manslaughter," the officer stated in a cold, loud voice as he dragged me away from my dad's bedside toward the hallway, I struggled against his grip, screaming that the killers had just escaped through the back doors.

"I didn't do anything, someone tried to kill us in our apartment, they just shot my dad right in front of me," I yelled, but the officer just gripped my shoulder tighter and pushed me toward the exit elevator while the reporters from the local news stations began gathering in the lobby below, holding up their cameras to film my face.

"Save it for the judge, the fire investigators found the acceleration fluid in your bedroom closet, the insurance company already logged your claim from this morning, so it looks like you burned the place down yourself to get the cash and run away from the hockey scandal," the officer said, shoving me into the back of a dark police cruiser while rain started pouring down against the glass windows.