All Chapters of THE HOSTAGE'S DILEMMA : Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

NATALIEI left out a soft groan and slowly recollect myself. My head thumps in slight pain. My eyelids flutter open and I push, hands splayed against cold concrete, the tiny stones biting into my palms. Pain shoots up my arm, but I force myself to sit, dragging air into my lungs in shallow, ragged gasps. Slowly memories of what just happened flood in. Mia was gone. Aaron Lombardi had been here. And someone else, most likely Drew knocked me out. A cold dread snakes through my veins, chilling me far more effectively than the damp air. She’s gone. Panic, hot and sharp, ignites in my gut. This isn’t right. This wasn’t part of the script. My gaze snags on the figures strewn across the warehouse floor. Luca’s men. The men he’d provided me who were supposed to be on the lookout were all on the ground. They lie twisted at unnatural angles, some groaning, clutching at wounds that stain their clothes crimson. Others are disturbingly still, their eyes staring blankly at the corrugated iron cei

Natalie The warehouse smelled like blood and gasoline. I hated it, but I had no choice but to be here. It’s a life I signed up for myself. A lot had happened recently. One minute Mi was strapped to a chair in the middle of the warehouse and the next I was bloodied up here.And now, Liam Connell, Mia’s father, was chained to a chair in the middle of it.I’d watched as Luca’s men dragged him to the chair, bloody but still defiant. I’d stood in the corner, arms crossed, while Luca circled him like a predator. And I hadn’t flinched when Luca’s fist connected with Liam’s jaw, over and over again. The whole thing made me realize how much of a psychopath Luca was and I wondered why I never noticed it.Now, hours later, with Luca gone to meet Antonio, I couldn’t stop shaking. He had ordered everyone to leave the warehouse and stand guard outside probably not trusting any of usI crept back inside the warehouse, the sound of my boots echoing against the empty floor. The guards were gone, Luca

MiaI stared at the kitchen stove deciding to start making dinner plans. I couldn’t just rot away in my room and let myself drown in self-pity. A knock came just after lunch, sharp and familiar, and before I could even rise from the couch, my little sister bolted for the door.I laughed weakly. “Hey, don’t just open”But it was too late. She already had the knob twisted and the door flung wide, her delighted squeal echoing through the house.“Noah!”There he was, standing on the porch like he belonged there. Like he always had. His broad smile stretched ear to ear as he bent down, scooping her into a hug that lifted her off her feet. She shrieked in giggles, pounding at his shoulder.“You’re getting heavier,” he teased, setting her down gently. “If you keep growing like this, I won’t be able to swing you around anymore.”She stuck her tongue out at him before darting past, returning to her crayons. Noah straightened, brushing his palms together, his gaze shifting toward me.For a seco

MiaNoah has been around a lot lately. Too much, maybe.At first, I didn’t question it, he was a piece of my past showing up when everything else felt like it was crumbling. Familiar, easy, safe. But now, sitting across from him in the living room while my sister doodles between us, I notice the little things.The way he always says the right words. The way he looks at me is like he’s measuring something more than my face. The way silence doesn’t seem to bother him, though it eats me alive. Maybe it’s because of the world I have been exposed to for the past few months but something feels uneasy in me.He laughs at something my sister says, tossing his head back like old times, and I almost forget. Almost.“You’re quiet tonight,” Noah says, turning back to me. “Thinking too hard again?”“I guess.” I close my notebook before he can glance at the empty page. “I’ve been… stuck.”“With the book?”“With everything.” My voice falters, then steadies. “With Aaron, too.”I shouldn’t have said h

MiaAfter Natalie left, the house felt heavier.Her apology still lingered in the air, her broken face was all I could see. I didn’t know if I could forgive her for betraying my trust in the first place, but I was grateful she’d come. Grateful she’d carried the weight of truth straight to my doorstep, even if it broke her in half.For the first time in weeks, I felt a strange kind of clarity. The lies had begun to unravel. The picture was still blurred, but I could finally make out the edges.Later that night, I contemplated reaching out to Aaron. Should I call? But I decided against it. Aaron would have reached out if he wanted to and the fact that Drew hadn’t either showed that it was still not safe. My phone buzzed on the nightstand.I frowned, reaching for it. The number was unfamiliar.Unknown: Mia. It’s Liam. Don’t be afraid.My stomach dropped.The last time I’d trusted a message from an unknown number, I’d ended up chained to a chair in Luca’s warehouse. My heart hammered as I