- ELENA
There were voices outside the door.
Not the usual lazy pacing of a bored guard. These were deeper. Sharper. Intent.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
They were coming.
I pressed myself to the wall beneath the vent, arms locked around my knees. The blanket I’d balled up to make it look like Aiden was still under it had already slipped slightly, the
shape no longer convincing.
If they walked in and looked even once in this direction, they’d know he was gone. And if
they figured that out, it was over. For both of us.
I glanced up again, barely letting my eyes move.
The grate above me was still cracked open.
Still empty.
Where was he?
Please. Please, baby. Be outside. Be gone.
A scraping sound outside–metal on metal.
The unmistakable rattle of keys.
No no no no-
I almost bolted upright. Almost screamed. But I forced myself to stay frozen, every nerve
on fire.
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Chapter 98
Then-
Another sound.
Soft. Barely audible.
The faintest click of metal shifting from above.
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I jerked my head up, just in time to see two small fingers press through the edge of the
grate, then the smudged, dirt–streaked face of my son.
“Aiden,” I breathed.
J
He didn’t even get to speak. I reached up, grabbed under his arms, and yanked him down as fast as I could. He squirmed, startled, feet kicking gently against the wall as I lowered him
to the floor.
The key hit the lock.
My hands were shaking so hard I nearly missed the screws as I slammed the vent cover shut and shoved it into place. It didn’t fit right. One side was bent, slightly warped from years of heat and pressure. I forced it closed with the heel of my hand, heart in my throat.
The door opened.
Two men stepped into the room. Bigger than the others. One of them had a jagged scar down the side of his face. The other looked bored.
I stood between them and Aiden, trying to act casual, trying not to show the fact that every inch of me was ready to tear through them if they got too close.
They didn’t look at me. Their eyes went straight to him.
“Look who’s finally up,” one of them said, smirking.
Aiden stood just behind my legs, still catching his breath. His cheeks were flushed. Sweat matted his hair to his forehead. I didn’t get a chance to ask him if he got out. If he called for
help. If anyone was coming.
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Chapter 98
Because if he had?
He wouldn’t be here now.
The second man strode forward and grabbed me by the arm.
I didn’t fight. Not yet. Not while they were both standing between me and my son.
The first guy reached for Aiden.
Aiden growled.
Low and deep in his throat–surprisingly fierce.
The man laughed. “You hear that? Pup thinks he’s got teeth.”
He grabbed him anyway.
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“Aiden!” I shouted, struggling in the man’s grip. My wrists ached under his hold, but I didn’t care. “Let him go!”
“Easy now,” the man holding me said, yanking me forward. “No one’s hurting anyone. Not yet.”
They frogmarched us out of the room, down a hallway I hadn’t seen before. My bare feet hit cold tile. Aiden walked stiffly between them, head down, fists clenched.
We passed several rooms–some with closed doors, others open to empty spaces, stark and lifeless. It didn’t look like a hotel. Or a private home. It looked… staged. Sterile. Like
something built for function, not comfort.
Eventually, we were stopped in front of a plain white wall.
Aiden was shoved forward first.
One of the men pulled a newspaper from his back pocket and slapped it into Aiden’s chest.
“Hold this.”
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Chapter 98
He blinked, confused, but did it.
Today’s date was printed across the front page in bold black letters.
A proof of life photo.
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The man pulled out a phone and snapped a few quick pictures–one from the front, one from the side, one of Aiden’s face in close–up. His lip was trembling.
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