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CHAPTER 20 - Blood and Betrayal
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ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 44 The Woman Behind the Curtain
My mother was supposed to be dead. That was the truth I had lived with. That was the lie I had buried. That was the pain I had already lost. But now she was on my phone screen. Bound. Bruised. Breathing. Alive. My hand shook as I stared at the picture. My mind refused to accept it. My heart refused to let go of it. Every part of me felt like it was breaking and healing at the same time. “She’s real,” I whispered. “She’s not a memory. She’s not a ghost. She’s alive.” Nathaniel leaned closer, his jaw tight. “And she’s in danger.” “No,” I said, and my voice cracked. “She’s always been in danger. That’s what this is. That’s what all of it is.” He looked at me carefully now, as if I might break apart if he spoke too loudly. “Ava, listen to me. We need to slow this down and think. Charles is playing a game. This is a trap.” “It’s always a trap,” I snapped, then relaxed when I saw his face. “But I can’t ignore her. Not again. Not after hearing her voice.” He said my name softl
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 43 Two Truths
My heart knew before my mind did. Something inside me had already started to remember. Before the pictures came. Before the names formed. Before the truth dared to breathe. My heart was ahead of everything. I stood there, still holding the phone in my hand. The screen was dark now, but the message burned in my mind. That voice. That familiar breath between each word. That voice that I hadn’t heard in years, but somehow had never forgotten. “It can’t be you…” My lips shook. “It can’t be.” Nathaniel was standing in front of me. I could see the tightness in his jaw. His eyes were searching mine, like he was trying to hold me here, in the present, before I slipped too far into the past. “You heard it too,” I whispered. “Didn’t you?” His voice came out low. Careful. “I heard a woman’s voice. I didn’t want to assume anything.” A sharp laugh left me. Bitter. Shaking. “I don’t want to assume either. But my heart… it already knows.” I closed my eyes and suddenly, the memory hit.
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 42 Blood Debt
The sound never came. I expected the gun to go off. I expected the sharp crack, the fall of a body, the sudden end of breath. But the sound never came. There was only a click. A cruel, empty click. And then quiet. Thick. Heavy. Impossible to breathe through. My grip tightened around his wrist. I did not think so. I did not plan. My body moved before my mind could catch up. Rage took control. Not the kind that destroys without thought. This was focused. Sharp. Cold. The kind that decides when to end something instead of when to explode. “You don’t get to touch her again,” I said through tight teeth. Charles fought, but the weakness in his hand revealed him. The gun slipped from his fingers. It hit the floor with a small, ugly sound. I almost wished it had fired. Almost wished it had ended him. But Ava’s voice echoed inside me. If you do, you become him. I would not become him. Behind Ava, another figure held a weapon at her head. I felt it without having to see it. A quiet
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 41 A Life in Her Hands
My hands would not stop shaking. The sound of my own breathing was too loud. It filled my ears. It filled my chest. The gun was still pointed at me. Steady. Cold. Certain. His finger wrapped around the trigger, ready, waiting, like it had all the time in the world. Nathaniel was on the ground beside me, blood spreading slowly across his sleeve. His jaw was tight. Pain lived in his eyes, but it did not break him. He did not beg. He did not look away. He looked at Charles with the kind of anger that burns without fire, the kind that never dies. Charles was breathing hard. Too hard. His chest rose and fell like he was fighting against something inside him. Madness. Fear. Maybe regret. But his eyes did not soften. “You should have stayed quiet,” he said. “You both should have listened.” I swallowed, but my throat was dry. My voice came out softer than I expected. “You don’t have to do this.” A pause. “You always say that,” he responded. “People say it right before they lose e
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 40 The Scars
They kept asking the same question, and each time, it hurt more. “Do you understand why you’re here?” “Yes,” I said for the third time. “I understand.” “Then tell us again. In your own words.” My hands were cold. Not from fear. From memory. From the memory of everything that had just happened. “You want me to say that I planned it. That I wanted payback. That I went there to kill him.” I took a slow breath. “But that is not the truth.” “Then tell the truth,” the voice answered. “The truth is… he didn’t leave me a choice.” Silence followed. I swallowed hard. “He cornered me. He had Isabella. He told me lies. He pushed me until I could not breathe. I did not pull that trigger with power. I pulled it with survival.” A moment passed. “And Nathaniel?” “He tried to stop it from happening,” I whispered. “Even when he wanted it to end too.” They let me repeat the story. Again. And again. And again. I spoke of fear. I spoke of manipulation. I spoke of what it is like to be cha
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 39 The Choice
I didn’t scream. I just moved. I don’t remember thinking. I remember breathing once. Then I remember my finger tightening. A shaking finger. A tired finger. A frightened finger. The sound was sharp. Final. Too loud to be real. Charles jerked backward. Shock filled his eyes. Not fear. No regret. Only surprise. “You…” he whispered. “You really did it.” He staggered. Time slowed again. Again. Then he went down. Silence crashed over everything. My hands stayed raised. The gun weighed more than it should. My entire body shook. My ears rang. My heart beat so loud I thought it would burst. “Drop it,” Nathaniel said softly from behind me. “Ava… it’s over. Drop the gun.” I turned to him slowly, like I was afraid of my own hands. I watched the weapon fall to the floor. “I shot him,” I mumbled. “I… I really shot him.” “You saved yourself,” he said. “You saved us.” “But I could’ve chosen something else,” I said, my voice breaking. “I could have tried to talk. I could have let him
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 28 - The Last Leverage
He called again. This time, I answered. “Hello, my darling,” Charles said, his voice calm to calm. “You sound breathless. Is Nathaniel nearby? ” My hand tightened around the phone. “What do you want? ” “I think you already know.” “I’m done with your games.” He laughed softly, the kind of
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 27 - The Enemy in My Blood
“Don’t move,” she cried, holding me down. “You’re bleeding too much.” “I’m fine,” I lied, even though my vision blurred. “We can’t let him vanish again.” Her eyes filled with hopeless rage. “Nathaniel, stop pretending you’re invincible!” I grabbed her wrist weakly. “He’s not going to stop un
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 26 - Chaos
For a moment, silence filled the courtroom. Then a few people started talking again, some in amazement, others in pity. And that was when the twist came. Charles’s lawyer stepped forward, waving a folder. “Your Honor, my client has new evidence proof that Miss Brooks herself received money fr
ONE NIGHT TO BURN CHAPTER 25 - The Public Trial
Ava turned to Isabella, anger flashing in her eyes. “You’re using us.” “Of course I am,” Isabella said without doubt. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t win.” Ava’s voice shook. “Why help us?” Isabella’s smile faded. “Because Charles took something from me too.” “What?” “My sister,” Isabella
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