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Lucas had left the room to make some calls, leaving Hannah and Teresa alone in the dimly lit space. The air between them was thick with unspoken thoughts, with grief and frustration too heavy to voice.Teresa watched Hannah closely. She looked hollowâher eyes distant, her shoulders sagging under a weight no one could carry for her.âYou okay?â Teresa finally asked.Hannah blinked and turned her head, forcing a weak smile. âYeah.âTeresa hummed in response, clearly unconvinced. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with a practiced ease. Smoke curled in the air between them.âDo you smoke?â she asked, offering one toward Hannah.Hannah shook her head. âNo. I never have.âTeresa chuckled, taking a long drag before exhaling. âFigures.âSilence stretched between them, but it wasnât uncomfortable. It was the silence of two women who understood each otherâdifferent, yet bound by shared pain.âMy mother-in-law used to hate me too,â Teresa murmured suddenly, he
Teresa sat in the back of a dimly lit bar, the scent of cigarette smoke and aged whiskey thick in the air. The place was quiet, the kind of underground haunt where no one asked questions, where secrets were currency, and where a person could disappear if they werenât careful.She checked the time on her phone. Her contact was late.Across the table, Hannah fidgeted with the glass of water in front of her, her expression distant, lost in thoughts she wasnât ready to speak out loud. Lucas sat beside her, his gaze locked on the entrance, his tension palpable.When the door finally creaked open, Teresaâs eyes narrowed as a tall, wiry man entered, his leather jacket scuffed and his face shadowed with stubble. He scanned the room before spotting her and sauntering over.âYouâre late, Marco,â Teresa said, her voice edged with impatience.The manâMarco Ruizâgrinned as he slid into the seat across from her. âGood to see you too, Provenzano. You know how it isâhard to stay alive in this busines
Hannah stood in the dimly lit warehouse, her fingers clenched into fists at her sides. The stale scent of dust and oil filled the air, mingling with the cold fear settling deep in her stomach. The warehouse was one of many they had searched in the last twenty-four hours, but this one felt different. The moment she stepped inside, a weird sensation crawled over her skin, like a presence lingering just out of sight.Lucas moved beside her, scanning the rows of crates stacked high against the walls. His jaw was tight, his frustration barely concealed beneath his calm exterior. Teresa stood a few steps ahead, gun in hand, her eyes sharp as she surveyed their surroundings. They had all hopedâdesperatelyâthat this search would yield something more than dead ends and half-truths. But as the minutes ticked by, that hope was slipping.Brandon had vanished without a trace.Every lead they had followed led to nothing. Every whisper, every clue, every trail had been a carefully crafted illus
The night was thick with silence, the kind that felt like a living, breathing thing, pressing in on them as they stood at the edge of the abandoned docks. The stench of salt and rust filled the air, mixing with something darkerâthe unmistakable scent of blood.Teresaâs fingers curled around the handle of her gun as she scanned the area, her pulse drumming hard against her ribs. Her father was dead. That chapter of her life was over. But this? This wasnât over. Not until she had him.Not until she had Brandon and brought him back to his family.âWe shouldâve heard something by now,â Hannah whispered, her voice tight with restrained panic.Teresa didnât answer. She was thinking the same thing.The lead had been solid. Brandon had been held hereâmultiple sources confirmed it. The docks had been his prison. But as they stood here, surrounded by crates and shadows, the truth settled like ice in her veins.Brandon wasnât here.And the blood on the floor was still fresh.Teresa crouched do
Teresa barely had a second to react before the door to her office swung open. The moment her eyes landed on the man standing there, a cold shiver ran down her spine. Her father.Bernardo Provenzano. The man she had once idolized. The man she had spent her entire life trying to please.And now, the man she had just betrayed.He stepped inside with a slow, deliberate pace, shutting the door behind him. The soft click of the lock sent her heart into overdrive.âOh, my little princess,â he murmured, his voice filled with mock tenderness. But his eyes⌠they were filled with nothing but hatred.Teresaâs hands gripped the arms of her chair, knuckles turning white. Fear slithered through her veins, but she refused to let it show.âHow disappointing,â he continued, shaking his head as if she were a child who had misbehaved. âI thought you were different. Better. Not like your mother.âTeresa inhaled sharply.His mother.For years, she had believed the lieâthat her mother had been killed by a r
The beeping of machines was the only sound filling the hospital room. Jessica lay on the hospital bed, her skin deathly pale, her chest barely rising under the weight of the oxygen mask secured over her face. Wires and tubes connected her to the machines, keeping her alive, but just barely.Hannah stood frozen in the doorway, unable to move. The doctorâs words still rang in her ears, cutting deeper than any wound ever could.âShe has a five percent chance of survival,â the doctor had said, his voice clinical, detached. âShe lost too much blood, and the delay in medical care worsened her condition. Weâre doing everything we can, but you need to prepare for the worst.âThe worst.Hannah clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. This was her fault. If she hadnât suggested they escape⌠if she had just listened, just stayed put, Jessica wouldnât be lying here, fighting for her life.And BrandonâŚA fresh wave of pain hit her. He was gone. Taken. She had watched him surrender himsel
The river had given them a chance, but it hadnât given them freedom.Brandon collapsed onto the muddy shore, gasping for air. His limbs ached from the relentless current, but he didnât have time to recover. Jessica.Lucas dragged her up the embankment, his breathing ragged. She was completely unconscious now, her body limp in his arms. The river had sapped whatever strength she had left. Her wound was badâtoo bad. If they didnât get her help soonâŚNo. He couldnât think like that.âTeresa,â Brandon barked, snapping back into survival mode. âWhereâs the nearest hospital?âTeresa, still soaking wet, flipped open her laptop with shaking hands. Water dripped onto the screen, but she didnât stop. âThereâs one about six miles south,â she said breathlessly. âBut thereâs a problem.âBrandon exhaled sharply. âThereâs always a problem.âTeresa gave him a grim look. âBernardoâs men will have every major road blocked. Theyâre already watching the airspace. If we head to that hospital, theyâll find
The cave was damp and cold, the scent of moss and river water clinging to the air. Shadows stretched across the rocky walls, their flickering shapes cast by the distant glow of searchlights cutting through the trees outside. They had barely made it out alive.But they werenât safe.Brandon pressed his back against the jagged rock, listening. Boots crunched against gravel just beyond the entrance. The soldiers were closing in. They had minutesâmaybe secondsâbefore the cave was compromised.Lucas sat against the far wall, pressing his hand against Jessicaâs wound. She was slipping fast, her skin pale, her lips trembling.âI can stop the bleeding, but not for long,â Teresa said, her voice tight with urgency. âBut she needs real help, Brandon.âBrandon looked at Jessicaâs barely conscious form, then at Hannah, who was up beside Teresa, shaking from the cold,she looked so pale. He had promised to protect her. He had promised to protect all of them.He clenched his fists. Promises meant not
The night was supposed to be theirs. They had escaped, survived impossible odds, and left Bernardo bleeding on the cold ground. But fate had other plans.They wondered how come he was alive. They had witnessed him go on his knees, blood all over him.The deafening roar of helicopter blades grew louder, sending shockwaves through Brandonâs chest. The floodlights cut through the dense trees, slicing through the shadows that had once been their cover. The tracker beneath the seat blinked like a taunting heartbeatâsteady, unrelenting, and damning.Teresaâs fingers flew over her laptop, her breath ragged. âI need time,â she muttered, panic lacing her voice.âWe donât have time,â Lucas growled, yanking a rifle from the back. âTheyâre here.âJessica shifted, barely conscious, her breathing uneven. Hannah took a deep breathe while having a second thoughts.Maybe she should just surrender herself to Bernardo and all this would be over. But Brandon here would rather die than watch her go back