CHAPTER 5: I HAVE NO CHOICE

Sometimes, the hardest decisions were not between right and wrong, but between two things you desperately wanted to avoid.

Amelia had always promised herself that she would never depend on a man for money.

Yet, as she sat inside Alexander Blackwood's black Mercedes, watching the city pass through the rain-covered window, she wondered how much longer she could keep that promise.

Her brother was missing.

Someone had broken into their apartment.

And the only person who seemed capable of protecting her family was the man she trusted the least.

"How long until we get there?" she asked.

Alexander sat beside her, reading something on his phone.

"Five minutes."

"Have your men found Daniel?"

"They're checking the building."

"That's not an answer."

He lowered his phone.

"One of my security teams is already at your apartment. Another is checking the surrounding streets. We'll know more when we arrive."

Amelia turned towards him.

"You keep saying everything is under control, but you don't even know where my brother is."

His jaw tightened.

"I'm doing everything I can."

She looked away.

For once, she had no argument.

The moment the car stopped outside her apartment building, Amelia pushed open the door.

She ran up the stairs, ignoring Alexander's instructions to wait.

Their front door was open.

A terrible feeling settled in her stomach.

"Daniel!"

She rushed inside.

The living room was a mess.

The cushions had been thrown onto the floor. Drawers stood open, and clothes were scattered across the sofa. The small television was still there, but the cupboard beside it had been emptied.

Someone had searched the apartment.

"Daniel!"

A security guard appeared from the hallway.

"Miss Carter?"

"Have you found my brother?"

"Not yet, ma'am."

Her hands began to shake.

Alexander entered behind her.

"What happened?"

The guard straightened.

"Someone forced the lock. We found no sign of the boy inside."

Amelia turned sharply.

"Don't call him a boy. He's seventeen."

"I'm sorry, ma'am."

She rushed towards Daniel's bedroom.

His schoolbag was on the floor. His textbooks were scattered across the bed.

Then she noticed something.

His phone was lying beside the pillow.

Daniel never went anywhere without his phone.

Her throat tightened.

"Where is he?"

Alexander stepped into the doorway.

"When did you last speak to him?"

"This morning. He was supposed to be at school."

"Did he mention anyone following him?"

"No."

"Any unusual calls?"

"I don't know!" she snapped. "I wasn't watching his phone every second!"

Alexander didn't respond

Amelia covered her mouth.

She hadn't even considered that someone might target Daniel.

She had spent so much time worrying about their mother that she had failed to notice how much danger her brother might be in.

A security officer approached Alexander and whispered something.

Alexander's expression hardened.

"Show me."

The officer handed him a tablet.

Amelia moved closer.

"What is it?"

"Your building's security footage."

He turned the screen towards her.

The recording showed two men entering the building at 11:42 the previous night.

One wore a grey hoodie. The other wore a baseball cap.

They had covered their faces.

Amelia leaned closer.

"Can you identify them?"

"Not yet," Alexander answered.

Then the recording changed.

A third person appeared outside the building.

He was wearing a dark jacket.

Amelia's breath caught.

She recognized the way he walked.

It was the same man who had been standing near the black SUV the previous night.

"They've been following me," she whispered.

Alexander looked at her.

"Yes."

The answer was so simple that it frightened her.

Daniel finally answered his phone twenty minutes later.

Amelia nearly dropped hers when she saw his name.

"Daniel!"

"Amelia?"

His voice sounded strange.

"Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm at school.

She closed her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

"When?"

"About an hour ago."

Amelia looked at her missed calls.

She had been too busy arguing with Alexander to notice them.

"Listen to me. Don't leave the school. Do you understand?"

"What's going on?"

"Just do what I say."

"Amelia, you're scaring me."

She swallowed.

"Someone broke into the apartment."

Silence.

"What?"

"Don't worry. I'm handling it."

"Did they take anything?"

"I don't know yet."

Daniel lowered his voice.

"Amelia, I saw a strange man outside school yesterday. He asked if I was Daniel Carter."

Her stomach dropped.

"What?"

"He said he knew you. I thought he was one of your friends."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important!"

Amelia pressed a hand against her forehead.

"Daniel, listen carefully. Stay with your teacher. Someone is coming to get you. Don't go with anyone else."

"Amelia"

"I love you. I'll explain everything later."

She ended the call.

For several seconds, she couldn't move.

Alexander was watching her.

"He's safe?" he asked.

"For now."

"I'll have someone collect him."

She nodded.

Then she looked at the ruined apartment.

The small home she had worked so hard to maintain suddenly felt unfamiliar.

Someone had entered their private space.

Someone had touched Daniel's belongings.

And they had done it because of her.

By the time Daniel was brought to the apartment, Amelia had already started cleaning.

She didn't want him to see how frightened she was.

"Amelia?"

She turned.

Daniel stood near the entrance with a security officer behind him.

The moment she saw him, she dropped the clothes in her hands and pulled him into a hug.

"Don't ever disappear like that again."

He hugged her back.

"I'm sorry."

She held him tightly.

Alexander stood a short distance away, speaking quietly with one of his men.

Daniel noticed him.

"Who's that?"

Amelia released him.

"Alexander Blackwood."

Daniel's eyes widened.

"The billionaire?"

"Yes."

"Why is he here?"

"That's a very long story."

Daniel looked between them.

"Are you in trouble?"

Amelia forced a smile.

"No."

Alexander glanced at her.

He clearly knew she was lying, but he said nothing.

That evening, after Daniel had eaten and settled into his room, Amelia sat at the kitchen table.

The bills were still there.

The electricity notice.

The rent reminder.

The hospital payment request.

Nothing had changed.

Except now, she had a billionaire's offer sitting in her mind.

She picked up the hospital letter.

Her mother's treatment was due in four days.

The amount was more than she could earn in three months.

She opened her banking application.

The balance made her laugh bitterly.

She had less than two hundred dollars.

She rested her head against the table.

How was she supposed to fix everything?

A phone rang.

She looked at the screen.

It was the hospital.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, Miss Carter. This is the billing department at St. Mary's Hospital."

Amelia straightened.

"Yes. Is something wrong with my mother's treatment?"

"We wanted to remind you that the outstanding payment is still due. Without the deposit, the next treatment session may have to be postponed."

"Please, don't postpone it."

"I'm sorry, but we have other patients waiting."

"I understand. I just need a little more time."

"How much time?"

Amelia closed her eyes.

"Three days."

The woman sighed.

"I'll make a note of it, but I can't promise anything."

The call ended.

Amelia stared at the phone.

Three days.

She had three days to find money she didn't have.

At nine that night, her phone rang again.

This time, the name on the screen made her stomach tighten.

Alexander Blackwood.

She answered.

"What?"

"Good evening to you too."

She almost laughed.

"Is there a reason you're calling?"

"Yes. I've received an update from my security team."

"About Daniel?"

"He's safe. Two men will remain outside your apartment until further notice."

She looked towards the window.

A black car was parked across the street.

"Thank you."

It was the first time she had thanked him.

The silence that followed was brief.

"You're welcome."

Then he continued.

"I assume you've had time to consider my offer."

Amelia looked at the bills on the table.

"Five hundred thousand dollars."

"Correct."

"Medical expenses covered."

"Yes."

"My brother's education."

"Yes."

"And security for my family."

"Already arranged."

She rubbed her forehead.

"What exactly happens after I sign?"

"You'll move into my private residence. You'll have a personal security detail, and you'll be expected to cooperate with my investigation."

"How long?"

"I've already answered that question."

"Until you decide I'm no longer useful?"

His voice became colder.

"Until the threat is removed."

She was silent.

Then she asked something she had been afraid to ask.

"What if I want to leave?"

"You can request to leave."

"Request?"

"Your safety will be assessed first."

Amelia laughed without humor.

"You really don't understand how controlling you sound."

"I understand perfectly."

"Of course you do."

He paused.

"Amelia, someone broke into your home today. Your brother has already been approached by strangers. Your mother is being watched. This is no longer a problem you can solve by returning to work tomorrow."

She gripped the phone.

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Then stop pretending you have time."

His words stung because they were true.

She hated him for saying them.

She hated herself for considering his offer.

But most of all, she hated the fact that her family's safety had become something she could no longer guarantee.

"I need time," she whispered.

"You have until tomorrow morning."

"That's not enough.

"It's more than the people hunting you intend to give you."

The call ended.

Amelia sat in the darkness long after midnight

Daniel was asleep.

Her mother was still in the hospital.

The apartment was quiet except for the sound of rain against the windows.

She opened the old handbag where she had hidden the flash drive.

Her fingers found the small device inside the torn lining.

She pulled it out.

The black surface reflected the weak light from the kitchen.

She wondered what it contained.

She wondered why her father had been mentioned.

And she wondered whether Alexander knew more than he was telling her.

A message appeared on her phone.

ALEXANDER BLACKWOOD: The car will be outside at eight tomorrow morning. If you agree, come prepared to discuss the terms.

She stared at it.

Then another message arrived.

ALEXANDER BLACKWOOD: One more thing. Do not tell anyone about the flash drive.

Amelia froze.

She read the message again.

Her fingers went cold.

How did he know?

She hadn't told him.

She hadn't even admitted that she had taken it.

Slowly, she looked towards the apartment door.

For the first time, she wondered whether someone had been listening to their conversation.

Or whether Alexander Blackwood had known the truth all along.

She typed a reply.

AMELIA: How do you know I have it?

The three dots appeared almost immediately.

Then his answer came.

ALEXANDER BLACKWOOD: Because Richard was holding it when he died. And you're the only person who had the opportunity to take it.

Amelia stared at the screen.

She had been careful.

She had hidden the device.

She had lied to his face.

Yet he had seen through her.

Another message followed.

ALEXANDER BLACKWOOD: Tomorrow, we discuss everything. No more lies.

She placed the phone on the table.

Then she looked at the photograph of her mother sitting beside a hospital window.

She thought about the treatment she needed, the education Daniel deserved, and the home they might lose.

She had spent years refusing help because she didn't want anyone to think she was weak.

But accepting help wasn't always about pride.

Sometimes it was about survival.

She picked up her phone and typed slowly.

AMELIA: I'll meet you tomorrow. But I have conditions of my own.

His reply came less than a minute later.

ALEXANDER BLACKWOOD: We shall see about that.

Amelia put the phone down.

Tomorrow, she would face Alexander Blackwood again.

She would negotiate for her family's safety.

She would find out what he knew about her father.

And she would make sure that whatever agreement they reached did not turn her into his prisoner.

But she didn't yet understand something important.

Alexander Blackwood had not offered her half a million dollars simply because he wanted her silence.

He wanted the flash drive.

And he was prepared to offer much more to get it.

Amelia had agreed to meet the most dangerous man in her life. She just didn't know how much he intended to demand in return.