Choose one
Chapter 69: Choose One
Nobody liked the message.
Not Amara.
Not Lorenzo.
Not Victoria.
Not Daniel.
Especially not Daniel.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The photograph remained on the phone screen.
Evelyn sitting calmly in a chair.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Watching the camera.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
And behind her...
Three words.
Simple words.
Cruel words.
Terrifying words.
CHOOSE ONE.
The waiting room sat in absolute silence.
Because everyone understood exactly what it meant.
The countdown had started.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Daniel stared at the image.
Then stared harder.
Because this wasn't random.
Nothing about this was random.
The betrayal.
The calculated-message betrayal.
Undefeated.
Amara handed the phone back.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Dangerously.
"What aren't we seeing?"
Silence.
Immediate silence.
Daniel blinked.
Once.
Then twice.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because that was the correct question.
Of course it was.
Amara always found the correct question.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
The ghost zoomed into the photograph.
Examining details.
Background.
Lighting.
Angles.
The usual.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then he froze.
Immediately.
The room noticed.
Of course it did.
The betrayal.
The noticing-something betrayal.
Undefeated.
"What."
Lorenzo's voice came out like a gunshot.
Daniel pointed toward the image.
A tiny detail.
Barely visible.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
A clock.
Mounted on the wall.
Above Evelyn's shoulder.
The hands read 8:17.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Nobody understood.
Then Daniel cursed.
Actually cursed.
A rare event.
A concerning event.
Very concerning.
"That's impossible."
The room froze.
Again.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
Victoria immediately grabbed the phone.
Studied the image.
Then went pale.
Immediately.
The betrayal.
The pale-specialist betrayal.
Undefeated.
Amara stepped closer.
"What."
Victoria looked up.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
"The photograph was taken tomorrow."
Absolute silence.
The world stopped.
Immediately.
Because that made absolutely no sense.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Lorenzo looked ready to commit several felonies.
Reasonably.
Very reasonably.
"What."
Daniel swallowed.
Hard.
Then pointed toward the date displayed beneath the clock.
Tiny.
Barely visible.
Easy to miss.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Tomorrow's date.
Not today's.
Tomorrow's.
The room became deathly still.
Because suddenly...
The enemy wasn't sending a threat.
The enemy was sending a prediction.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Amara felt a cold sensation slide down her spine.
Dangerously.
Because only someone incredibly confident would send a photograph from tomorrow.
The implication was horrifying.
They weren't worried about being stopped.
They expected the future to happen exactly as planned.
The betrayal.
The confidence betrayal.
Undefeated.
Then Daniel suddenly laughed.
Once.
Short.
Humorless.
Dangerous.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Victoria stared.
Immediately.
Because Daniel never laughed like that.
Ever.
"What."
The ghost looked at the photograph.
Then at Amara.
Then at nobody.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Finally he spoke.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Terrifyingly.
"He wants us to find him."
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Again.
A recurring problem.
Very recurring.
Because suddenly...
That made sense.
The warehouse attack.
The messages.
The hacks.
The photograph.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The enemy wasn't hiding.
The enemy was leading them somewhere.
Like breadcrumbs.
Like a trail.
Like a trap.
The realization settled heavily over everyone.
Then Lorenzo's phone rang.
Again.
Immediately.
Danger.
Business.
War.
The usual.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The king answered.
Listened.
Then became very still.
The most dangerous version of Lorenzo.
The quiet version.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"What happened?"
Amara asked.
Silence.
Lorenzo lowered the phone.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Dangerously.
Then looked directly at Daniel.
The king's expression unreadable.
A terrible sign.
A very terrible sign.
Then he said:
"They found another message."
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Immediately.
"Where?"
The answer came quietly.
Like a death sentence.
"At the warehouse."
A pause.
Then:
"It's addressed to Amara."
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because suddenly...
The game wasn't targeting Evelyn.
Or Daniel.
Or Lorenzo.
Not really.
It was targeting Amara.
The same way it always had.
The same way it always would.
And somewhere in Chicago...
A man who wasn't supposed to exist was smiling.
Because Dr. Amara Queen was finally moving exactly where he wanted her to go.
End Chapter 69: Choose One Begins