Chapter 1: Escape

The bass thumped through the walls of the penthouse club, vibrating through the floor as colored lights swept across the crowd with Sylvie Wilfred dancing without a care in the world.

"You know your dad would freak if he knew you were here." Liana, Sylvie's closest friend said.

"He already suspects" Sylvie muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe you should listen to him sometimes. The city isn’t exactly safe lately."

"Please" Sylvie scoffed, though her smile was affectionate. "I can take care of myself."

After hours of dancing, they flopped on one of the elevated lounge seats.

Liana elbowed her. "Tell me again why you don’t just move out? You’re twenty-three. Billionaire heiress. You could literally vanish to Paris tomorrow."

"Because my father would send an entire fleet of helicopters to find me" Sylvie said dryly. "Besides… it’s home."

The night grew quieter as the crowd gradually reduced. When the time finally came to leave, Sylvie hugged Liana, promising to text when she got home.

She waved her goodbye, and left to the parking lot where her silver sports car waited under the dim lights.

She slid into the driver’s seat, tossing her small purse to the passenger side. The engine purred to life, smooth and familiar.

"Home." she mumbled to herself, pulling onto the main road.

The streets glowed with the remnants of nightlife, occasional cars, neon signs flickering against the pavement, the cool breeze slipping through her window.

She was five minutes away from the intersection near her father’s business district when it happened.

A black van shot out of a side street.

It swerved sharply, too sharply, skidding across her lane.

Sylvie’s heart slammed into her ribs.

The van screeched to a stop directly in front of her, blocking the road.

"What the..."

Two men burst out of the van almost immediately. Black clothes. Masks. Speed. Intent.

They were running toward her car.

It felt like her blood froze for a second as she realized that she's about to be kidnapped but just for a second, then instinct kicked in.

"Not tonight." she breathed.

She slammed the gear into reverse.

The tires screeched violently as her car shot backward, spinning halfway across the empty street. One of the men lunged for her door handle but Sylvie jerked the wheel hard, swerving sharply.

Her front bumper clipped the side of their van with a crunching metallic shriek. The impact threw the man off balance, buying her a fragment of time as she sped off.

The attackers went back toward their van, shouting something she couldn’t hear over the roaring engine.

The van whipped into motion behind her. They were chasing her.

Her pulse pounded in her ears. She shot past an empty stretch of industrial blocks, gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles whitened.

Think, Sylvie, Think, she thought to herself.

Her father’s warnings struck her mind like echoes.

The city isn’t safe for people like us. Stay home. Don’t wander at night. Well, Too late now. She glanced at her rearview mirror. The van was gaining on her.

Her breath hitched but then she saw something else. Headlights. But not from the van.

From a second vehicle behind it, a dark car, moving faster, cutting across lanes as if it were intentionally intercepting the van.

"What…?"

The mystery vehicle clipped the van’s flank, forcing it to swerve. Sylvie’s eyes widened. Her heart hammered even harder.

Whoever was in that car wasn’t just chasing behind, they were blocking the attackers, that means they were helping her. Or stopping the chase.

She didn’t know which, but before she could process any of it, the van regained control.

The mysterious car swerved again. And the three vehicles locked into a dangerous chase across the darkened highway.

Sylvie swallowed hard.

"What is going on…?"

The road stretched out before her, unknowable, terrifying, and suddenly deadly.

And behind her?

A van with men trying to capture her… And someone else she didn’t recognize, fighting to keep them away.