Chapter 5: A Voice Behind the Door

Three knocks.

Then silence.

No one in the room dared to breathe.

Lucas gripped Ava’s wrist so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

“Don’t answer,” he whispered.

Dr. Carter switched off the flashlight on her phone, plunging the room into darkness.

The only light came from the glowing emergency exit sign above the steel door.

Outside, the man’s footsteps echoed again.

Slow.

Measured.

Almost as if he knew they had nowhere to run.

“I know you’re in there,” he called calmly.

His voice was smooth, almost friendly.

“I’m only interested in one man.”

No one responded.

He laughed softly.

“I’ll make this simple. Hand him over, and everyone else walks away.”

Victoria moved closer to Ava.

“He’s talking about Lucas.”

Ava nodded.

She had already figured that out.

Damien stepped toward the door but kept a safe distance.

“How many exits are there?” he asked Dr. Carter.

“Just one.”

“There has to be another.”

“There isn’t.”

Damien cursed under his breath.

“We’re trapped.”

Lucas slowly shook his head.

“No…”

“What?”

“They planned this.”

“What do you mean?”

“They knew exactly where I’d wake up.”

Ava frowned.

“Someone told them.”

Lucas nodded weakly.

“Someone inside the hospital.”

Those words chilled everyone in the room.

Dr. Carter looked genuinely offended.

“None of my staff would do that.”

Lucas looked at her.

“They’re not one of your staff.”

“They’re hiding.”

Ava instinctively glanced around the room.

It wasn’t large.

A few cabinets lined one wall.

Old surgical equipment stood covered in white sheets.

There was nowhere for anyone to hide.

Or so she thought.

Another knock echoed through the room.

This time it was louder.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

“I’m running out of patience,” the stranger called.

Victoria leaned close to Ava.

“What do we do?”

Before Ava could answer, Damien quietly reached inside his jacket.

He pulled out a handgun.

Ava stared at him.

“You have a gun?”

“I always do.”

“You came to your brother’s funeral armed?”

Damien’s face remained expressionless.

“When you’re a Cross, you don’t take chances.”

Ava looked at the weapon in disbelief.

She realized she knew almost nothing about the family she’d married into.

⸻

Outside, the stranger sighed.

“I was hoping we’d do this the easy way.”

A metallic clink echoed against the door.

Lucas’s eyes widened in horror.

“No…”

“What is it?” Ava asked.

“Get down!”

The steel door exploded inward.

The blast threw everyone to the floor.

Dust filled the room.

Pieces of metal scattered across the old operating theater.

Before the smoke had cleared, Damien fired.

A deafening gunshot echoed through the darkness.

Someone outside cried out.

Then more gunfire erupted.

Bullets ripped through the shattered doorway.

Dr. Carter screamed.

Victoria pulled Ava behind an overturned surgical table.

Lucas struggled to crawl across the floor despite his injuries.

The shooting stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

Silence.

Then footsteps.

Several pairs.

Coming closer.

“They’re inside,” Damien whispered.

He checked his pistol.

Only three bullets remained.

Ava’s pulse raced.

“How many are there?”

“I counted four.”

“We can’t fight four men.”

“I know.”

Another shadow appeared in the doorway.

The man held a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other.

His beam swept slowly across the room.

Searching.

Hunting.

Ava held her breath.

The light passed over the surgical table.

It stopped only inches from her face.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Please…

Don’t see me.

The beam moved away.

The man continued walking.

Lucas leaned toward Ava, speaking so quietly she barely heard him.

“There’s a tunnel.”

“What?”

“Behind the medicine cabinet.”

She frowned.

“What tunnel?”

“This used to be the original surgical wing.”

“They built an emergency escape route decades ago.”

Ava looked toward the wall.

The old medicine cabinet appeared rusted shut.

“You think it still works?”

Lucas nodded.

“If it hasn’t been sealed.”

Victoria overheard.

“I’ll check.”

“No,” Ava whispered.

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Keeping low, Victoria crawled across the floor.

Every movement felt impossibly loud.

The gunmen continued searching the room.

One of them stopped only a few feet away.

Victoria froze.

The man’s boots came into view beneath the operating table.

Ava’s heart pounded so loudly she was certain he could hear it.

The gunman slowly turned.

His flashlight swept toward Victoria.

Before the beam reached her, Damien deliberately kicked a metal tray across the room.

It crashed loudly against the wall.

“There!” one of the attackers shouted.

All four men rushed toward the sound.

Victoria seized the opportunity.

She reached the cabinet and pulled.

Nothing.

She pulled harder.

Still nothing.

“Come on…” she whispered desperately.

With one final tug, the cabinet shifted.

A grinding noise echoed through the room.

A narrow passageway appeared behind it.

“It opened!” Victoria whispered excitedly.

Lucas smiled weakly.

“I told you…”

Damien motioned toward the tunnel.

“Go.”

“What about you?” Ava asked.

“I’ll cover you.”

“No.”

“Ava…”

“I’m not leaving you.”

Another burst of gunfire shattered the silence.

Wood splintered above their heads.

Damien grabbed Ava’s shoulders.

“Listen to me.”

“If they catch all of us…”

“…this ends tonight.”

Ava looked into his eyes.

For the first time, she didn’t see a cold businessman.

She saw a man trying desperately to protect his family.

Reluctantly, she nodded.

Together, Ava and Victoria helped Lucas toward the hidden passage.

Just as Lucas disappeared inside, a familiar ringtone echoed through the room.

Everyone froze.

The sound wasn’t coming from outside.

It was coming from inside the tunnel.

Ava looked down.

A phone lay on the ground just beyond the entrance.

The screen lit up with an incoming call.

Across the display were two words that made her blood run cold.

Incoming Call… Ethan Cross.