Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Evelyn
The pain was excruciating, like something drilling straight into my bones.
It was the only thing I felt when I regained consciousness. A stream of warm liquid ran down my forehead, over my brow bone, and into my left eye. The thick, metallic stench told me immediately it was blood.
I tried to raise a hand to wipe it away, but I couldn't move.
My wrists were bound tightly behind my back with rough industrial rope. The cords had dug deep into my flesh, and my fingers were already going numb from lack of circulation. My ankles were taped together and secured to the iron legs of the chair.
My foggy brain slowly began to turn again. The memories from before I blacked out sliced into my mind like shards of broken glass.
I remembered it all. A few minutes earlier, I had used a three-minute blind spot in the security system to slip out of the main building with Benjamin.
We dodged the patrol teams and made it to the hidden gravel path exit behind the estate.
Caroline was already waiting there, dressed in an expensive designer coat and holding a set of keys to a Chevrolet SUV.
I thought it was the door to freedom. Full of gratitude, I walked toward the vehicle, my hand already reaching for the cold door handle.
In that instant, Benjamin grabbed me by the hair from behind. I whipped my head around in terror and saw him raise the butt of his gun high.
Right before he brought it down, I caught a glimpse of Caroline standing in the shadows. She watched everything with cold detachment, her face showing no surprise, only icy irritation.
"Make it quick," Caroline said, her voice utterly devoid of warmth in the freezing wind, as if she were ordering a servant to dispose of a bag of stinking garbage. "I don't want that bitch's blood on my driveway."
That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.
Fighting back the wave of nausea, I blinked hard to clear the blood from my eyes and forced them open.
I was in a vast, freezing space. Thick concrete walls surrounded me, their surfaces cracked and peeling. The ceiling curved into a dome overhead. The air smelled of old mold and acrid gunpowder. This was clearly an abandoned old bomb shelter.
A few harsh work lights hung from tangled cables on the ceiling, giving off a faint buzzing sound.
When my gaze swept across the massive support columns nearby, my already cold blood turned to ice.
Less than ten feet away, one of the columns was covered with dense blocks of explosives.
There was enough to level the entire shelter in a fraction of a second. Anything inside would be vaporized instantly.
Fear gripped my throat like an icy hand. I barely dared to breathe.
Loud voices and the clink of metal snapped me out of my panic.
The sounds came from an old wooden table deeper inside the shelter. I turned my head slightly and saw two men through the dim light.
They were sitting at the table. Several black duffel bags lay open in front of them, stuffed with thick stacks of crisp hundred-dollar bills.
One was Benjamin. Across from him sat a burly man with a thick beard and a nasty knife scar running from the corner of his eye down to his chin. Marcus. The traitor who had caused my father's disappearance and set off this entire bloody nightmare.
I held my breath, ignored the pounding in my head, and strained to listen.
"This is just the down payment," Marcus said, lighting a cheap cigar and blowing out a cloud of smoke. He tossed a stack of bills into Benjamin's bag. "Once we get the rest of the money from that bitch and take care of Victor, we'll be set for life."
Benjamin picked up a bundle of cash, inhaled its scent greedily, and grinned. "This should be enough to clear my debt with the Colombians. Richard had it coming anyway."
My entire world shattered in that moment.
It was Benjamin. The man I trusted like a father, the one who had been part of our family for years. He and Marcus had brutally murdered my father and pinned everything on Victor.
My heart sank into an endless abyss.
I had been such a complete fool.
"We owe a lot of thanks to that fancy British bitch," Marcus said with a sneer, flicking ash from his cigar.
"If Caroline hadn't reached out to us with the estate's security schematics and the camera blind spots, you never would have gotten in as a guard so easily.
And if she hadn't cut the main control room signal tonight to let you two out, we wouldn't have this golden goose in our hands. "
Benjamin snorted as he stuffed the money deeper into the bag. "That woman is even more ruthless than we are. She doesn't want Victor dead out of revenge. She wants the whole empire."
"Exactly. A perfect murder by proxy," Marcus laughed.
"She used this little girl to lure Victor out alone.
Once he's blown to pieces in this shelter tonight, Caroline will step forward tomorrow as the grieving ex-wife.
She'll prop up her brainless idiot son Julian as the new head.
And she'll become the real shadow queen of New York's underworld. "
Overwhelming regret, rage, and bone-deep terror crashed over me like a freezing tidal wave. A choked, desperate sob escaped my throat. Tears mixed with the blood from my forehead and streamed down my cheeks.
My cry caught Marcus's attention.
He turned, his cold snake-like eyes landing on me.
"Well, look who's awake," Marcus said, standing up. He dropped his cigar on the ground and crushed it under his boot.
He walked over with heavy steps and loomed above me, his face twisted with cruel mockery. "Sleep well, princess?"
I ignored him. I whipped my head around and stared straight at Benjamin as he approached. My eyes burned with hatred hot enough to flay him alive.
"Why?" My voice shook violently with fury and grief.
Every word felt like it was torn from my bleeding heart.
"Benjamin. My father trusted you. He treated you like his best friend.
Our whole family treated you like one of us.
You watched me grow up. You taught me how to shoot.
How could you betray him? How could you kill him? "
Benjamin stopped. His weathered face looked cold and greedy under the harsh lights.
"Family?" He let out a mocking laugh, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Don't be naive, Evelyn. The salary your father paid me every month wasn't even enough to cover my bar tab.
He was a king on Wall Street with that little black book full of secrets.
He was sitting on an endless gold mine. But what did he do?
He was too damn stingy. He'd rather take all those politicians' secrets to his grave than give me even one percent of the profits.
I owed the Colombians three million, and he just stood by and watched me drown. "
"So you teamed up with these snakes to kill him?
" I struggled wildly against my restraints.
The metal chair scraped loudly against the concrete floor.
"You're nothing but a coward. A disgusting parasite.
My father didn't give you the money because he knew you'd never stop gambling.
He treated you like a human being, but deep down you're just an ungrateful rabid dog. "
Benjamin's face twisted with rage.
"Shut your fucking mouth, you bitch!"
He roared and lunged forward, swinging his hard-soled boot straight into my stomach.
My eyes widened in terror. Tied to the chair, I had nowhere to go.
The impact exploded through my abdomen. I let out a piercing scream as the chair and I toppled backward, slamming onto the ground. My organs felt like they'd been displaced. A dangerous, heavy ache spread from deep in my lower belly. My baby.
Benjamin came at me again like a raging animal, ready to stomp on my stomach.
"Enough! Stop!" Marcus grabbed Benjamin's shoulder and yanked him back roughly. "Are you crazy? If you kick that thing out of her, what do we use to lure Victor? Don't damage our leverage."
Benjamin breathed hard, glaring down at me as I convulsed in pain on the floor.
"You're right," he said after a few seconds, straightening his jacket with a cold smile. "This bitch can't die yet. She's the key to sending Victor to his grave. Keeping her alive is far more useful."
Marcus grunted and hauled me and the chair upright again.
He pulled a black flip phone from his oily jacket pocket, dialed a number, and put it on speaker.
The call connected after two rings.
Victor's icy voice filled the shelter.
"Marcus. You'd better pray she's still breathing."
The moment I heard Victor's voice, I lost control of my tears. That was my man. He hadn't given up on me. Even after I had misunderstood him so badly and run away, he was still looking for me.
Marcus laughed smugly. "Relax, boss. Your woman is doing just fine. Aside from a little cut on her head, she's lively as ever."
Benjamin, who had been counting money in the back, walked over.
He spoke loudly into the phone. "Oh, and I've got some great news for you, Victor.
She's carrying your little bastard." His voice echoed maliciously through the shelter.
"You've got two choices. Bring the money, or get ready to collect the bodies of your woman and your kid in a few hours. "
The line went deathly silent.
I could hear Victor's heavy, beast-like breathing through the speaker.
"What do you want?" Victor said, his voice hoarse and terrifying.
"Three million in cash. Non-sequential old bills," Marcus demanded without hesitation. "You have half an hour. Come alone. Remember, alone. Bring it to the location I'll send you."
Marcus suddenly grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back painfully. He held the phone close to my face.
"Go on, princess. Say a few last words to your lover."
I clenched my teeth. I couldn't let Victor walk into this trap. They had no intention of letting us live. Caroline wanted Victor dead, and this place was packed with enough explosives to bring down a building.
"Victor! Don't come!" I screamed with every ounce of strength I had left. "It's a trap! The whole place is wired with explosives! They killed Richard! They're the ones who did it! Forget about me! Don't come alone!"
Before I could finish, Marcus cursed and slapped me hard across the face.
The force snapped my head to the side. Half my face went numb. My ears rang, and stars burst in my vision.
"You bitch! Shut the fuck up!" Marcus roared.
Victor exploded on the other end, his roar nearly shattering the speaker. "Marcus! If you touch her again, I will peel the flesh from your body piece by piece and feed it to the dogs! I will slaughter your entire family!"
"Cut the bullshit and bring the money!" Marcus shouted back. "Alone! I'll call you again in half an hour. If you bring anyone with you, I'll hit the detonator. You won't even find her ashes."
Marcus slammed his thumb down on the end call button.
I slumped against the cold metal chair, my vision completely blurred by hopeless tears.
Victor would come. I knew he would come for me.
And I would have to watch the man I loved most in this world die with me in this cold underground tomb, all because of my stupidity and ignorance.