Darkness and truth

MIA POV

The darkness is extreme.I can’t see Angelo, can’t see my own hand in front of my face, but I can hear everything with terrifying clarity. The footsteps in the hallway. Multiple people. Moving with purpose toward my room.Angelo’s hand finds mine in the dark, grip iron-tight.“Don’t make a sound,” he whispers against my ear.My heart beats so loud I’m certain whoever’s out there can hear it. Who are these people? Why are they here? And why does Angelo sound more angry than afraid?The footsteps stop outside my door.The handle turns slowly.Angelo pulls me backward, navigating the pitch-black room like he can see. His other hand presses against my mouth gentle but firm silencing the scream building in my throat.The door opens.A flashlight beam cuts through the darkness, across the empty bed where I was sitting thirty seconds ago.“She’s not here.” A man’s voice. Rough. Unfamiliar. “Check the bathroom.”We’re pressed against the wall beside my closet. Angelo’s body shields mine, one arm wrapped protectively around my waist. I can feel his heart beating against my back steady, controlled, while mine tries to break free from my ribs.The bathroom door bangs open. Light floods briefly, then darkness again.“Clear. She must’ve left with Cross.”“Max won’t like this. He wanted her tonight.”Max. Angelo’s uncle. The man who just threatened me.“Split up. Check every floor. She’s pregnant, she can’t go far.”The footsteps retreat. Voices fade down the hallway.Angelo waits. Counting seconds in the dark. When he finally moves, it’s with calculated precision.“Stay close,” he breathes. “Don’t let go of my hand.”He leads me through the darkness like he’s done this before. We move through my room, into the hallway, past shadows that might be furniture or people, I can’t tell. My free hand instinctively covers my stomach, protecting the baby that’s suddenly very real and very vulnerable.We reach a door I’ve never noticed. Angelo presses his palm against a panel. It glows faintly green biometric scanner and the door clicks open.A hidden stairwell.“Down. Quickly.”We descend in darkness. My legs shake. My shoulder is the one that’ll be wounded in three months, though I don’t know how to brush the concrete wall.“Where are we going?” I whisper.“Safe house. Move faster.”We emerge in an underground garage I didn’t know existed. A black SUV sits waiting, engine already running. Derek stands beside the driver’s door, gun in hand.“Three hostiles on the upper floors,” he reports. “Two more in the lobby. Max planned this carefully.”“He always does.” Angelo opens the passenger door, practically shoves me inside. “Drive. Now.”Derek doesn’t argue. We peel out of the garage, tires screaming.I twist in my seat, looking back at the penthouse. Every window is dark. It looks dead.“What the hell is happening?” My voice cracks. “Who were those people?”Angelo stares straight ahead, jaw clenched. “My uncle’s men. He wants you.”“Why? I’m nobody. I’m just..”“You’re carrying my child. Or you will be after IVF.” His hands curl into fists. “Max knows the easiest way to hurt me is through people I care about.”“You don’t care about me. You said I’m an investment.”He finally looks at me, and something in his eyes makes my breath catch. “I lied.”_ _ _ _ _

ANGELO POVThe safe house is forty minutes outside the city. A cabin in the woods that legally doesn’t exist, bought under shell companies and false names. I’ve owned it for three years. Never needed it until tonight.Derek does a perimeter check while I get Mia inside. She’s shaking adrenaline and I guide her to the couch before she collapses.“Sit. I’ll get you water.”“I don’t want water. I want answers.” But she sits anyway, hands around her stomach. “What does your uncle want with me?”I handed her the water she claimed she didn’t want. She drinks it.“Seven years ago, I lost my parents died in a car accident. Or that’s what everyone thinks.” I lean against the wall, maintaining distance. “The truth is more complicated.”“How complicated?”“They’re alive.”Mia chokes on her water. “What?”“Witness protection. Fake deaths. The whole thing was staged.” I watch her process this. “My uncle Max tried to kill them to inherit the company. They faked their deaths to survive. I’m the only one who knows they’re alive. Well, me and Derek.”“Austin doesn’t know?”“Austin helped Max plan the murder.”The color drains from her face. “Oh my God. The man who hired me to betray you tried to kill your parents?”“Yes.”“And you knew this. When I signed the contract. When you gave me those access codes.” Her voice rises. “You knew I was working for a murderer?”“I did.”She stands, pacing like a caged animal. “This is insane. This is absolutely insane. I need to call my mother. I need to!!”“Your phone is compromised. Austin can track it.” I pull out a burner phone. “Use this. But Mia? Don’t tell her where you are. Don’t tell her anything that could put her in danger.”She takes the phone with trembling hands. Dials. “Mom? It’s me. No, I’m fine. I just needed to hear your voice.” Her eyes filled with tears. “The treatment starts Friday? That’s good. That’s really good. I love you. I’ll call you soon.”She hangs up. Wipes her eyes.“Austin paid for her treatment,” she says quietly. “The fifty thousand. It’s already at the hospital. If I back out now, if I stop giving him information..”“He’ll pull the funding.”“And she dies.” Mia looks at me with desperation that cuts deeper than any knife. “So what am I supposed to do? Betray you and damn myself? Or save you and kill my mother?”It’s the question I’ve been waiting for. The moment of truth.“There’s a third option.”“What?”I cross the room, stop in front of her. Close enough to touch but I don’t.“You work with me. Feed Austin fake information. Let him think his plan is working. I’ll pay for your mother’s treatment, all of it. Every dollar. She gets the best care money can buy.”“Why would you do that?”“Because seven years ago, you saved my life. Consider this repayment.”Mia stares at me like I’m speaking a foreign language. “What’s the catch?”“You have to trust me. Completely. No more secrets. No more lies. You tell me everything Austin asks for, and I’ll tell you what to give him.”“And if I say no?”“Then I’ll still pay for your mother’s treatment. But you’ll go back to Austin, finish his plan, and when this is over, I’ll make sure you both end up in prison.” I let that sink in. “Your choice, Mia. Save yourself or destroy yourself. But choose now.”She searches my face for deception. For the trap.“If I say yes, if I work with you, what happens to Austin?”“He goes to prison for conspiracy to commit murder. Along with Max. I’ve been gathering evidence for years. I just needed them to incriminate themselves further.”“And me? What happened to me?”I step closer. “That depends on how this plays out. But I promise you this: if you help me, I’ll protect you. Both of you.” My eyes dropped to her stomach. “That’s not negotiable.”Mia’s quiet for a long moment. Then: “Okay. I’ll help you.”Relief floods through me. I don’t let it show.“Smart choice.”“But I have conditions.”Of course she does.“Name them.”“First, my mother doesn’t find out about any of this. She thinks I’m a normal surrogate for a nice man. That’s the story.”“Agreed.”“Second, when this is over, when Austin and Max are arrested,I disappear. New name, new city, enough money to start over. I don’t want to be part of this world.”Something twists in my chest at the thought of her leaving. I ignore it.“Fine.”“Third…” She takes a breath. “The baby. After I give birth. I want visitation rights.”That catches me off guard. “You want to be in the child’s life?”“I've been carrying her for nine months. I’ll feel her move, hear her heartbeat. You can’t expect me to just hand her over and forget she exists.”She’s right. I hadn’t thought about it from that angle.“We’ll negotiate terms after the birth.”“Promise me.”I look into her eyes, brown and desperate and far too trusting for someone who should know better.“I promise.”Derek appears in the doorway. “We’ve got a problem.”“What kind?”“Austin just posted on social media that his brother’s surrogate has been kidnapped. He’s offering a million-dollar reward for information on her whereabouts.”Mia goes pale. “He’s using me as bait.”“Worse,” Derek says. “He’s painting Angelo as the kidnapper. Police are looking for both of you. There’s an APB out on this vehicle.”I pull out my phone. Sure enough, Austin’s I*******m has a tearful video: My brother has lost his mind. He’s holding an innocent woman hostage. If anyone has seen Mia Lawrence, please contact authorities immediately.Comments flood in. Thousands of shares.“He’s good,” I admit. “I’ll give him that.”Mia looks between us. “So what now? We can’t go to the police. They think you kidnapped me.”“Now,” I say, “we disappear completely. And we wait for Austin to make his next move.”My phone buzzes. Unknown number again.The message makes my blood freeze: *I have something you want. Meet me at the warehouse on Fifth, midnight tonight. Come alone. Bring the girl. Or your parents die for real this time. -Below the text is a photo.My mother and father. Bound. Gagged. Very much alive and very much in danger.Max knows.He’s always known.And now he has them.