Chapter 13: The Switched Babies

The words echoed through the emergency ward.

"They switched us... the night we were born!"

Time seemed to stop.

Ava stared at Anna, her mind refusing to accept what she'd just heard.

Then another gunshot shattered the silence.

The bullet struck the wall inches above Ava's head.

"Move!" Damien shouted.

He grabbed Ava's hand and pulled her behind a concrete pillar as shattered glass rained across the floor.

Lucas fired two quick shots.

The attackers ducked behind overturned hospital trolleys.

Patients screamed and rushed toward the emergency exits.

The entire ward dissolved into chaos.

---

One of the masked men spoke into an earpiece.

"Target located."

A calm voice answered.

"Forget the other woman."

"Bring Ava Carter to me."

"Alive."

Damien heard enough.

"They're after you," he said to Ava.

"I know."

"No."

His voice hardened.

"You don't understand."

"They don't care who gets hurt."

"They only want you."

Ava swallowed.

"Why?"

"Because you're the only person who can destroy them."

---

The attackers split into two groups.

One continued firing at Damien and Lucas.

The other circled toward Ava.

Lucas noticed immediately.

"They're trying to flank us!"

Damien glanced around.

There was only one escape route.

"The service corridor."

He pointed toward a gray steel door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

"Go!"

"I won't leave you," Ava protested.

Damien looked directly into her eyes.

"This isn't a request."

For the first time since meeting him...

His voice carried fear.

Not for himself.

For her.

Ava nodded reluctantly.

Lucas opened the steel door.

"Come on!"

The three of them disappeared into the narrow corridor moments before another volley of bullets ripped through the emergency ward.

---

Meanwhile...

Inside the treatment room...

Anna struggled to breathe.

She watched the attackers disappear after Ava.

One of the nurses cautiously approached her.

"Don't move."

Anna grabbed the nurse's wrist.

"You have to stop them."

"Who?"

"The Blackwood family..."

Her voice faltered.

"No..."

She shook her head desperately.

"Not all of them."

"The wrong one."

The nurse looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

Before Anna could answer—

A masked attacker quietly stepped into the room.

No one noticed him.

Until it was too late.

---

The service corridor stretched beneath the hospital.

Old pipes lined the ceiling.

Emergency lights flickered overhead.

Ava's breathing echoed off the concrete walls.

"Where does this lead?" she asked.

"The underground parking garage," Lucas answered.

"We'll switch vehicles."

Suddenly—

Damien stopped walking.

"What is it?" Ava whispered.

He raised a hand for silence.

Footsteps.

Coming from ahead.

More footsteps echoed behind them.

Lucas cursed under his breath.

"We're trapped."

The attackers had anticipated their escape route.

Damien quickly scanned the corridor.

His eyes settled on an old maintenance hatch.

"There."

Lucas forced it open.

A rusty ladder descended into darkness.

"Sewer tunnels?"

Damien nodded.

"It's our only option."

Ava looked down.

"You can't be serious."

A loud gunshot rang out behind them.

A bullet ricocheted off the wall.

Lucas didn't hesitate.

"Ladies first."

Despite the danger, Ava almost laughed.

She climbed down the ladder.

Damien followed.

Lucas closed the hatch above them just as the attackers reached it.

Heavy footsteps pounded overhead.

One of the masked men shouted,

"They're below us!"

---

Twenty minutes later...

The tunnel emptied into an abandoned maintenance station several blocks from the hospital.

Fresh air hit Ava's face.

She leaned against the wall, exhausted.

"We made it."

Damien wasn't convinced.

"No."

"We escaped."

"There's a difference."

Lucas's phone vibrated.

He answered immediately.

"What?"

His face drained of color.

"When?"

He ended the call.

Damien already knew.

"The hospital?"

Lucas nodded slowly.

"The attackers escaped."

"And Anna?"

Lucas lowered his eyes.

"They got to her first."

Ava's heart sank.

"Is she..."

Lucas handed Damien his phone.

A news alert filled the screen.

BREAKING NEWS

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN FOUND DEAD INSIDE ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL DURING SHOOTING INCIDENT.

Ava covered her mouth.

"No..."

Damien continued reading.

His expression suddenly changed.

"Wait."

Lucas frowned.

"What?"

"They identified the victim."

He turned the phone toward them.

The report read:

Victim identified as Linda Carter.

Ava stared at the screen.

"My stepmother?"

"Then..."

"If Linda is dead..."

She looked up, panic filling her eyes.

"Where's my mother?"

Silence.

No one knew.

Just then, Damien's phone rang.

An unknown number.

He answered.

"This is Damien."

A distorted voice chuckled.

"You protected her today."

Damien's expression darkened.

"Who are you?"

"You'll know soon enough."

The caller paused.

"Oh..."

"And tell Ava something for me."

Damien remained silent.

The voice continued.

"She keeps asking who she really is."

Another pause.

"She's asking the wrong question."

Damien's grip tightened on the phone.

"What should she be asking?"

The caller laughed.

"She should ask..."

"...which Ava survived."

The line went dead.

Damien slowly lowered the phone.

Ava's face turned pale.

For the first time...

She realized the truth might be even more terrifying than she had imagined.

If there had been two babies...

Which one...

...was supposed to die?