“Don’t,” I whisper. “He’s alive. He has to be.”
Alexander doesn’t contradict me. He just keeps driving.
We pass a sign… Caulfield’s estate is ten miles ahead. Private road, gated, no trespassing. My stomach flips.
Alexander slows, pulls off onto a dirt track half-hidden by trees. Kills the engine. Silence rushes in.
He turns in his seat. “Last chance to back out.”
Robbie looks at me. I look back.
“No,” I say. “We’re doing this.”
“Hell yeah,” Robbie says, a look of wild excitement in his eyes.
Alexander nods once. “Then listen. You get inside, you find them, you text me. Nothing else. If it goes south, you run. Or hide. But whatever you do, don’t look back.”
I nod, throat tight.
Robbie reaches forward, squeezes my hand. “We’ve got this.”
We get out of the car and wait as Alexander pulls away so he can remain out of sight.
I hold Robbie’s hand and we walk together. The gate looms ahead… black iron, tall, cameras on posts. A guard shack, light on inside. My heart slams against my ribs.
The guard steps out—uniformed,armed. “Private property. Turn around.”
Robbie steps forward, voice high and shaky. “Please, sir—we’re lost. Our car broke down a mile back. Phone’s dead. Can we just… use yours? Call for help?”
The guard looks us over—two boys, scared, alone. His eyes linger. Then he smirks.
“Boss might let you in. Wait here.”
He steps back into the shack, speaks into a radio.
My pulse roars in my ears.
The gate begins to slide open.
Robbie squeezes my hand so hard it hurts.
We’re in…
Chapter 22
Viktor
Don’t give them a fucking inch…
The rope bites into my wrists, coarse fibers rubbing skin raw with every involuntary twitch. My arms are bound behind the chair back, shoulders screaming from the unnatural angle.
The chair itself is metal—cold, unyielding, bolted to the floor in this whitewashed room with high ceilings that echo every sound like a goddamn cathedral of pain.
No grunts.
No screams.
Nothing…
