Chapter 4

The musty air of the basement, mixed with the stench of my own bloodied back, was stifling. I had no idea how long I had been out when the iron door was blown off its hinges.

I could barely open my eyes. I thought Vincent had finally sent someone to finish me off.

However, the people who stormed in were not his men. They were fierce men from a rival mafia gang, Black Thorne.

They were furious that their last attack, which killed my mom, had not gotten Vincent's attention. They knew he thought it was a hoax.

This time, they did not just grab me; they took Jenny too.

There I was, back in the ruins. Jenny and I were tied up on opposite sides of a pile of explosives, ten yards apart.

The leader of the Black Thorne made a video call to Vincent.

"Don Porter, it's been a while. Both your women are here. Give up your turf, or pick one to save. The one you leave will go down with these ruins."

Vincent showed up with his crew, his expression stormy.

Before he could say a word, Jenny started screaming. "Vincent, save me! They're so scary! Hurry, save me! Alice planned all this. She wants me dead! She's jealous, so she teamed up with outsiders to mess with you!"

Vincent turned to me. I was a mess of bruises and cuts. I had my head down, too weak to speak up.

However, my silence, after Jenny's accusations, looked like guilt to him.

"Alice."

His voice was full of disappointment as he spoke through clenched teeth. "Why couldn't you just be smart about this? You teamed up with enemies to force my hand? You've gone too far. Do you think this will make me give in?"

He took a deep breath, ready to make his last stand. "If you're so set on putting on a show, then go all the way!"

The countdown was down to its final minute.

Vincent sprinted to Jenny, untied her, scooped her up, and then raced for the door. He slowed down just a bit as he passed me.

His eyes were a storm of emotions. He was angry like he had been let down by someone he had once believed in.

"Alice, cut the act. If you don't come back and say you're sorry tonight, don't bother coming back at all."

I tried to lift my head to look at the man I had loved for so long. My throat was tight, and I could not speak. All I could do was shake my head, feeling utterly hopeless.

There was no going back now.

I watched him carry Jenny away, my heart sinking. My eyes went from full of despair to cold and empty. I did not fight or cry for help. I just watched the timer hit zero, like the end of some crazy play.

Vincent, with Jenny in his arms, got to a safe distance. However, he could not shake off the determined look in my eyes. My gaze had been lifeless. A wave of fear hit him, and he slowed down.

Just then, a motorcycle roared onto the scene.

Vincent's right-hand man, an intelligence officer, crashed at his feet. He was all bloodied and battered. He was holding up a secret report.

"Don Porter! This isn't a game! The report's in! The DNA from the ruins... It's really Ms. Hoffman's mother… She was killed in the explosion three days ago! Ms. Hoffman has been telling the truth all along! Her kidnappers... They're really going to kill her!"

A second later, a loud explosion blasted from behind Vincent.