CHAPTER 7 — The Choice No Son Should Have to Make
CHAPTER 7 — The Choice No Son Should Have to Make
For several long seconds…
No one breathed.
The only sound inside the bunker was the twins crying in Claire's arms.
I stared at the monitor.
Daniel stood there, calm and composed, as though he had just announced the weather instead of revealing he had kidnapped my mother.
Behind him, the screen went black.
"No..."
The word barely escaped my lips.
My mother had been only a few steps behind us when we entered the hidden staircase.
Somewhere in the chaos...
She had disappeared.
And none of us had noticed.
Claire grabbed my arm.
"Ethan."
I was already moving toward the bunker door.
"I'm getting her."
Victor stepped directly into my path.
"No."
"I said move."
"If you go up there now, all five of you die."
"I don't care!"
"I do."
His voice thundered through the bunker.
"Your children need a father."
The words struck like a punch.
I looked down at my son sleeping against my shoulder despite the chaos around him.
His tiny hand still clung to my shirt.
My daughter had finally stopped crying in Claire's arms.
They were depending on me.
But so was my mother.
I felt trapped between two impossible choices.
Victor hurried toward a steel cabinet built into the wall.
Inside were blueprints of the estate.
He spread them across a large table.
"They didn't come here for Margaret."
"They came for these two."
He pointed toward the twins.
"When they couldn't find them..."
"They took leverage."
Claire whispered,
"My God..."
Victor circled a section of the blueprint.
"They'll keep Margaret alive."
"For now."
"How can you know that?"
"Because Daniel wants something."
"And dead hostages have no value."
It made horrible sense.
I forced myself to breathe.
"So what's the plan?"
Victor looked at me.
"We split up."
Claire immediately shook her head.
"No."
"I'm not leaving Ethan."
Victor ignored her.
"Ethan and I rescue Margaret."
"You stay here with the twins."
Claire's eyes filled with panic.
"They'll find us."
"Not if this bunker performs as designed."
She looked at me.
I hated what I was about to say.
"He's right."
Tears rolled down her face.
"I just got you back."
"You won't lose me again."
I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
Then I kissed each baby's tiny head.
"I promise."
Ten minutes later...
Victor and I climbed a narrow maintenance tunnel leading toward the main house.
The estate above us was eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
Victor handed me a compact pistol.
"I've never shot anyone."
"I hope today isn't your first."
He pressed another weapon into my hand.
A flashlight.
"Stay behind me."
We emerged through a hidden panel inside the wine cellar.
The mansion looked like a battlefield.
Broken furniture.
Bullet holes.
Shattered glass.
The smell of smoke lingered in the air.
Bodies lay scattered across the marble floor.
Most were Victor's security guards.
One was an attacker.
I swallowed hard.
"They fought."
"They bought us time."
Victor knelt beside one of his men.
Closed his eyes.
Then stood without another word.
We continued through the dark hallway.
Suddenly...
A faint voice echoed from upstairs.
"Ethan..."
I froze.
"My mother."
Victor raised a hand.
"Wait."
The voice came again.
"We're in here!"
It sounded exactly like Margaret.
She was crying.
"Please!"
I started toward the staircase.
Victor grabbed my shoulder with surprising force.
"No."
"She's up there!"
"No."
"Can't you hear her?"
"I can."
"Then why—"
"Because that's not your mother."
I stared at him.
"What?"
Victor pointed upward.
"Listen carefully."
I closed my eyes.
The voice came again.
"Ethan..."
Victor whispered,
"Your mother calls you 'E.J.'"
I blinked.
It was true.
Ever since I was a child...
She had never once called me Ethan during moments of fear.
Always E.J.
Always.
The realization sent a chill through my body.
"It's a recording."
Victor nodded.
"They're drawing us out."
At that exact moment...
The ceiling above us exploded.
Wood and plaster rained down.
Gunfire erupted from the balcony.
We dove behind a marble pillar.
"They knew we'd come this way!"
Victor shouted.
Three masked men rushed down the staircase.
I fired without thinking.
The shot struck the wall several feet away.
Victor's return fire was precise.
One attacker fell instantly.
The other two scattered for cover.
A grenade rolled across the polished floor.
"Run!"
Victor tackled me behind a stone fireplace.
The explosion shook the entire mansion.
Heat blasted across my face.
Smoke filled the hallway.
Alarms screamed again.
Coughing, I struggled to my feet.
The attackers had vanished.
"They're retreating," I said.
Victor looked around grimly.
"No..."
"They're leading us somewhere."
Before I could answer...
A hidden speaker crackled to life.
Daniel's voice echoed through the mansion.
"Congratulations, Ethan."
"You passed the first test."
My blood ran cold.
"What do you want?"
A low laugh echoed through the halls.
"I want you to make the same choice your father made."
Silence.
Then Daniel added,
"One life..."
"...or your entire family."
A large monitor at the end of the hallway suddenly flickered on.
The image made my knees buckle.
My mother was tied to a chair inside what looked like the estate's old greenhouse.
Bruised.
Terrified.
But alive.
Beside her...
A digital countdown clock flashed in bright red numbers.
09:59
09:58
09:57
Then Daniel's face appeared beside the timer.
He smiled directly into the camera.
"You have ten minutes."
May you like
"Come alone..."
"...or the greenhouse explodes."
