The Choice

"They have her?" I whispered. The word felt like a physical blow.

My little sister, Joy, was only nine. She was supposed to be at home, tucked under the covers while Mum worked the late shift at the Gala.

"I came here to work the extra hours for your books," Mum sobbed, her hands shaking as she gripped my arms. "A man in a suit came to the kitchen. He showed me a video of Joy. She’s in a cold room, Loveth. He said if I didn't help hide the knife in your wrap, they would hurt her."

The betrayal stung worse than any physical wound. Victoria hadn't just used Maxwell or the Professor. She had used my own mother to frame me.

"Where is she?" I asked, my voice turning into ice.

"The old boiler room," Mum pointed toward the stairs. "But the guards are everywhere. Loveth, please, just run! If you stay, they will kill you both!"

"I’m not leaving her," I said.

I looked at the ballroom doors. I could hear Victoria’s voice over the speakers, spinning her lies, making the world believe I was a murderer. If I went to the stage now, I could show the video on my phone. I could expose the truth and clear my name. But by the time the police arrested Victoria, Joy could be gone.

"Go to the back gate, Mum," I ordered. "Wait for us. If I’m not there in ten minutes, find Maxwell Thorne. Tell him everything."

I didn't wait for her to argue. I turned and ran toward the service stairs.

The basement of St. Jude’s was a maze of pipes and shadows. The air was thick with the smell of rust. I kept my back to the wall, my heart hammering like a drum. Every time a pipe hissed, I jumped.

Revenge. That was the only word keeping me moving. Victoria Hale had taken my scholarship. She had tried to kill my partner. She had murdered a kind old man. And now, she has touched my family.

I reached the heavy steel door of the boiler room. It was cracked open.

"Is she quiet?" a man’s voice asked from inside.

"She’s asleep," another voice replied. "The boss said we will move her as soon as the Gala ends. We can't have a witness left behind once the scholarship girl is behind bars."

I looked around the hallway. There was a heavy fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. I grabbed it, the cold metal heavy in my hands. I wasn't a fighter. I was a girl who wrote stories and studied late. But tonight, I was a sister.

I kicked the door open with all my might.

The two men in suits turned, but they weren't fast enough. I swung the fire extinguisher with every bit of rage I had stored up. It hit the first man in the side of the head with a sickening thud. He crumpled to the floor.

The second man lunged for me, his hand reaching for a gun at his belt.

"No!" I screamed.

I pulled the pin on the extinguisher and squeezed the handle. A thick cloud of white foam exploded into his face. He choked, blinded and coughing. I didn't stop. I ran past him toward the corner of the room.

There she was. Joy was tied to a chair, a cloth over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and terrified.

"I’m here, Joy," I whispered, fumbling with the ropes. My fingers were shaking so much I could barely move. "I’ve got you."

I cut the ropes with a jagged piece of metal from a nearby shelf. The moment she was free, she threw her arms around my neck, sobbing silently.

"We have to go," I told her. "Can you run?"

She nodded, clutching my hand.

We headed for the door, but a tall figure stepped into the light. It wasn't one of the guards.

It was Victoria Hale.

She was still wearing her beautiful gala dress, but it was stained with mud at the hem. She held a small, silver pistol in her hand, pointing it directly at Joy’s chest.

"You're very annoying, Loveth," Victoria said, her voice completely calm. "You were supposed to be caught by now. You were supposed to be the perfect little poor girl who snapped and killed a teacher."

"It's over, Victoria," I spat. "The video is already being sent to the police."

Victoria laughed. "With what signal? I jammed the cellular towers around the school ten minutes ago. No one is sending anything."

She stepped closer, the gun never wavering. "Now, give me your phone and step away from the brat. Maybe I’ll let her live if you sign a confession."

"Don't do it, Loveth!" a voice shouted from the doorway.

Maxwell appeared, his face covered in blood and sweat. He was holding the Founder’s Ring high in the air.

"I found it, Victoria!" Maxwell yelled. "I found where you hid the real one! I have the tracker data from the vault. It proves you were the last one to touch it."

Victoria’s eyes shifted for a split second toward Maxwell.

That was all I needed.

I tackled her. We hit the floor hard. The gun went off, the sound deafening in the small room. I felt a sharp, searing pain in my shoulder, but I didn't let go. I clawed at her face, my nails drawing blood.

Maxwell grabbed the gun, twisting it out of her hand. He pinned her to the floor, his face dark with fury.

"It’s over," Maxwell breathed.

But Victoria just smiled, blood trickling down her cheek. "Is it? Look at the monitor behind you, Maxwell."

On a small security screen in the corner, I saw the front of the school. A black car was pulling up. A man stepped out a man I recognized from the old photos in my house.

It was my father. The man who had disappeared years ago.

He wasn't in handcuffs. He was shaking hands with the Headmaster.

"He isn't here to save you, Loveth," Victoria whispered, her smile widening. "He’s the one who gave me the idea to frame you."