My heart explodes in my chest.
Chapter 15 – Ellie
I suspected a trap the moment the message appeared on my encrypted phone. The number was unknown. The text was short.
We need to talk. I’m the one behind all of this. I just need to speak to you, and I’ll spare your husband.
Every instinct told me to ignore it.
But Mike had just walked into another dangerous plan. Another ambush meant for him. Another risk he was willing to take because of me.
Fear clouded my judgment, so I replied.
The woman’s instructions came quickly.
Step outside the estate. A car will be waiting.
Even then, I knew it was reckless.
But worry for Mike twisted my thoughts into something frantic and irrational. If I could end this—if I could remove the threat hanging over him—then maybe everything would finally stop.
It took time to slip out unnoticed.
The guards may be well-trained, but the estate is large. By then, I knew the routines, knew which corridors stayed empty at certain hours.
Mike wasn’t home.
That made it easier.
Still, my heart pounded the entire time. I moved quietly through the house and toward the back entrance. When I finally stepped outside the gates, the car was already waiting.
Black.
Engine running.
The back door opened the moment I approached.
I climbed inside.
The bag went over my head instantly.
My breath caught as rough hands shoved me back against the seat.
“Hey—!”
But the car was already moving.
Now, as the vehicle slows to a stop, my stomach twists with cold realization.
You idiot.
I should have thought this through.
I should have told Mike.
I should have realized that walking into a meeting with an unknown enemy isn’t bravery—it’s stupidity.
The car door opens.
