Luan moves faster than she can react. Makes a shushing gesture, finger pressed to his lips in a mockery of gentleness. Takes the phone from her hand before she can drop it or throw it. Taps the speaker button with deliberate calm.
The dial tone is audible in the relative quiet of the hallway, each ring counting down to revelation.
Erion leans close to Sarah's ear, his pale blue eyes cold as winter. Whispers with menacing softness, "Tell your accomplice everything went well. Tell them you have the money. Say it now or I put a bullet through your skull and call them myself."
The phone connects. A male voice comes through the speaker, slightly distorted but recognizable. "Sarah? Did it work? You got it? Tell me you got it."
Henry. Lily's brother. The confirmation landing like a punch to the gut.
Sarah hesitates, her mouth opening and closing like a fish drowning in air. Her eyes dart between us, looking for escape, finding none.
Erion presses his gun to her temple with deliberate pressure. The click of the safety coming off is loud in the small space.
She speaks, her voice shaking so badly the words almost don't form. "Yeah. Everything went well. I have it. I'm on my way back now."
"Good. Fucking finally. Hurry up. I want to count it. Make sure it's all there."
The call ends. The silence after feels heavier than the noise we just left.
Luan looks at Sarah with an expression I've seen before. The one he wears when he's deciding whether someone lives or dies. When he's weighing utility against threat. His voice when he speaks is cold, empty of anything resembling mercy.
"You're going to show us exactly where Lily is. If you cooperate, we'll consider letting you live."
43
LILY
Henry is getting more nervous as time passes, and I can feel death approaching with each minute that ticks by.
It's been almost an hour since he talked on the phone with Sarah. Whatever she told him must have been good news because he seems pleased with himself now, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
He keeps checking his gun compulsively, pulling it from his waistband to verify the magazine, clicking the safety on and off with his thumb. Pacing back and forth across the concrete floor with restless energy that makes the space feel smaller.
The men must have paid the ransom. They probably think I'll be released now. That this nightmare ends with a simple exchange.
But that only means I'm closer to death, not freedom. I'm the only witness to what Henry and Sarah have done. The onlyperson who can identify them, testify against them, destroy whatever future they're planning with stolen money.
The metal chair digs into my thighs, the edges cutting into skin that's gone numb from pressure and restricted circulation. The rope burns on my wrists throb with each heartbeat. My mouth still tastes like chemicals, that bitter chalk residue from whatever they drugged me with. The smell of the river is stronger now, damp iron and algae, mixing with the dust in my throat every time I try to swallow.
A fluorescent light overhead flickers and hums, the irregular rhythm adding to my growing sense of unreality.
Because of me, the men will start a war with the Irish. They will think the Irish mafia took me, will retaliate with the kind of violence that escalates into full-scale conflict. People will suffer. Die. Families destroyed. All because of me.
No.
I stop that thought with force, cutting it off before it can take root and grow. It's not my fault. It's not because of me. It's Henry's fault. He's the catalyst for all the bad things that are about to happen.
He chose this. Not me.
Suddenly the door bursts open with explosive violence.
Metal hinges scream. Wood splinters where the lock tears free. Cold air rushes in from outside, shocking after the stagnant warmth of my prison.
Luan enters first, moving like controlled chaos. Sarah is gripped tight by his arm, his fingers digging into her bicep hard enough to leave bruises. His gun is pointed at her temple with steady precision. Behind him, Erion and Artan flow into the space like water, guns already drawn and trained on Henry with the kind of focus that means they won't miss.
"Let her go," Luan says. His voice is cold, empty of everything except command. "I'll trade. Sarah for Lily."
Henry starts yelling immediately, his voice rising to a pitch that borders on hysteria. Calling Sarah names that make me flinch. "You dumb bitch! You stupid fucking bitch! You ruined everything! One simple job and you couldn't even do that!"
