Dad makes a faint sound, barely audible, like he’s trying to speak. Like he’s trying to warn me. But he can’t.
Maria’s eyes glitter with satisfaction. “You see?” she says softly. “He’s still breathing. He’s still here.”
Her voice drops. “But I won’t be able to keep him that way if you make me wait.”
She places her palm fully on the steel, right where my hand was pounding moments ago.
“Open the door, Lily,” she whispers. “And we can fix everything.”
Maria’s gaze flicks away from the camera for the first time.
She checks her watch and I run a hand over my face, trying to breathe through the panic rising in my chest. If I stay here, that means I lose my father and Drago. My baby loses its dad and grandfather.
And I’ll lose myself, because I won’t be able to survive this. To survive whatever hell she will reign over me.
“We don’t have long,” she says softly. “Not long at all.”
My breath catches.
Maria looks back into the camera, her eyes shining with sick certainty. “Drago will be here soon,” she murmurs. “If he isn’t already on his way.”
My blood turns to ice.
“Because you’re in the panic room,” she adds, like she’s explaining something obvious. “And Drago…” Her mouth curves. “He built this place to keep you safe. That means he built it to tell him when you’re not.”
I shake my head, tears pouring. “No?—”
“Yes,” she whispers, calm as death. “He’ll come running. Just like I knew he would.”
She looks down at Lev again, at the slow rise and fall of his chest almost with disgust. Then her eyes lift back to me. “If you want them both to live,” Maria says softly, “you join me. You join us.”
My whole body trembles. “I— I don’t understand?—”
“You will,” she interrupts gently. “Because you were made for this.”
Her voice deepens, turning reverent again, like she’s stepping into a pulpit only she can see. “Your father kept you alive,” she says. “Drago kept you safe.” A pause. “But neither of them can give you what I can.”
My throat tightens painfully.
“A world that belongs to us,” Maria whispers. “A world where you’re not prey.” Her smile widens. “A world where you’re worshipped.”
My stomach turns.
She checks her watch again, impatient now, like she’s measuring seconds.
“Be smart, Lily,” she murmurs. “Because if Drago walks through that door and you’re still hiding…”
She lifts Lev’s gun slightly, just enough for the camera to catch it. “I will use your father’s gun, and I will put him on the floor beside Lev.”
A sob rips out of me.
Maria’s voice softens instantly, sweet again. “But if you open the door?” she whispers. “You come with me.” Her gaze sharpens, gleaming with purpose. “And I let him live.”
My heart pounds so violently it hurts.
Then she smiles like she’s giving me the truth of the universe. “You’ll become the Preacher one day,” she says.
I freeze.
