Chapter 10 â Escape
Chapter 10 â Escape
Noah's innocent question hung in the air.
"Dad... is that my baby brother?"
For a long moment, no one answered.
Daniel stood motionless, his hand still resting on Noah's shoulder.
The confident manipulator who had orchestrated years of deception seemed to disappear.
In his place stood a tired man who suddenly looked older than his thirty-six years.
Emily watched him carefully.
This wasn't the expression she had seen in the ballroom.
This wasn't the smile of a man who believed he controlled every move.
This was something else.
Pain.
Real pain.
Daniel slowly knelt beside Noah.
"We'll talk about that later, buddy."
Noah looked disappointed but nodded.
"Okay."
He held out the drawing of the lighthouse toward Emily.
"I made this."
Emily hesitated before accepting it.
The paper was folded and slightly wrinkled.
A lighthouse stood on a cliff beside a calm sea.
Three people stood at the base.
A father.
A little boy.
A woman with long dark hair.
Above them, written in uneven handwriting, were the words:
A Family Never Leaves Each Other.
Emily felt tears sting her eyes.
Noah smiled proudly.
"Dad said lighthouses help people find home."
Emily looked at Daniel.
He couldn't meet her eyes.
The Goodbye
A loud knock echoed against the steel door.
Daniel immediately stood.
The warmth disappeared from his face.
"Time's up."
Another voice came from outside.
"They're waiting."
Daniel nodded.
"I'll be there."
He crouched beside Noah again.
"You have to go with Grandma now."
Noah frowned.
"Aren't you coming?"
"Soon."
"You promised last time."
Daniel forced a smile.
"I know."
The boy wrapped his arms around Daniel.
"I love you."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I love you too."
As Eleanor Brooks led Noah from the room, the child turned back toward Emily.
"Bye."
Emily managed a weak smile.
"Goodbye, Noah."
The heavy door closed.
The room felt colder than before.
The Offer
Daniel walked to the table and untied Emily's wrists.
She rubbed the red marks but didn't move.
"You could have left me tied up," she said.
"I know."
"So why didn't you?"
"Because I need your help."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"You've got some nerve."
"I deserve that."
"You deserve prison."
Daniel nodded.
"I probably do."
Emily stared at him.
"Probably?"
He looked directly into her eyes.
"If prison is still an option."
She frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel pulled a chair across the room and sat.
"They've given me until midnight."
"Who?"
"The Circle."
"To do what?"
"Deliver you."
Silence.
Emily slowly understood.
"You kidnapped me..."
"...because someone else was going to."
Daniel nodded.
The Truth About the Wedding
Emily folded her arms.
"Then explain."
"Everything."
Daniel took a long breath.
"The wedding wasn't supposed to happen that way."
Emily almost laughed.
"You mean accusing me of theft wasn't part of the plan?"
"It was."
"And humiliating me?"
"Yes."
"Tearing my dress apart?"
He looked away.
"No."
Emily's anger flared.
"You stood there."
"I know."
"You watched."
"I know."
"I begged you."
His voice broke for the first time.
"I know."
The room fell silent.
"I thought they'd stop."
Emily stared at him in disbelief.
"You expected mercy?"
"No."
"I expected control."
"What changed?"
Daniel leaned back.
"You told me you were pregnant."
Emily froze.
"You knew?"
"I knew before you did."
She frowned.
"What?"
"I saw the medical report."
Her face turned pale.
"You hacked my records."
"I had access."
Emily's stomach twisted.
"So my pregnancy..."
"...changed everything."
Daniel nodded.
"The Circle doesn't tolerate unpredictability."
"They accelerated the operation."
"The public humiliation."
"The legal documents."
"The transfer of your assets."
"It all moved forward."
Emily whispered,
"Because of the baby."
"Yes."
Another Prisoner
A faint metallic sound echoed somewhere above them.
Emily looked toward the ceiling.
"What was that?"
Daniel stood.
"Stay here."
He disappeared through another steel door.
Emily waited.
One minute.
Two.
Three.
Curiosity won.
She quietly stood.
The room contained only a table, two chairs, and a small cabinet.
Inside the cabinet...
Nothing.
Except a screwdriver.
She slipped it into her sleeve.
Footsteps approached.
She quickly sat back down.
Daniel returned carrying bottled water.
He didn't notice.
Or pretended not to.
The Recorder
While Daniel spoke, Emily quietly studied the room.
A small ventilation grate near the ceiling.
A security camera in the corner.
One light fixture.
No windows.
No obvious escape.
Then she noticed something else.
A tiny blinking green light beneath the table.
She accidentally brushed it with her foot.
Plastic.
Smooth.
She bent down as if adjusting her shoe.
It was a miniature digital recorder.
Already switched on.
She realized someone had placed it there intentionally.
Recording every word.
Without looking at Daniel, she gently nudged it farther beneath the table with her foot.
If he hadn't seen it...
Neither should the people listening.
The Meeting
An hour later, another knock sounded.
Three men entered.
All wore dark suits.
None smiled.
The oldest stepped forward.
Gray hair.
Cold eyes.
A silver ring shaped like a serpent wrapped around his finger.
Richard Holloway.
Emily recognized him instantly from Rachel's files.
"So."
Richard studied her.
"This is Emily Carter."
Daniel remained between them.
"You've seen the DNA report."
Richard smiled faintly.
"I have."
"What do you want?"
Richard ignored the question.
Instead, he looked at Emily.
"You resemble your father."
Emily clenched her fists.
"You murdered him."
Richard's smile disappeared.
"No."
"I simply obeyed orders."
Emily stepped toward him.
"Whose orders?"
Richard laughed.
"You'll meet him soon enough."
Daniel moved slightly, blocking Richard's path.
"She isn't ready."
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"You don't give orders anymore."
The tension between them was unmistakable.
Emily realized something important.
Daniel wasn't in charge.
Not even close.
A Dangerous Conversation
Richard dismissed his two bodyguards with a gesture.
"Wait outside."
The steel door closed.
Only three people remained.
Richard spoke quietly.
"The Director wants the child."
Emily instinctively covered her stomach.
Daniel's expression hardened.
"No."
Richard smiled.
"You've become sentimental."
Daniel took one step forward.
"I'm not giving you the baby."
Richard tilted his head.
"I wasn't asking."
Emily remained silent.
She wanted them to forget she was listening.
Richard continued.
"You were trained better than this."
"I changed."
"No."
Richard laughed softly.
"You hesitated."
"That's worse."
Daniel's voice dropped.
"If you touch her..."
Richard interrupted.
"You'll do what?"
Another long silence followed.
Richard finally turned toward the door.
"You have until midnight."
"If she isn't delivered..."
He looked back at Daniel.
"...Noah dies first."
The steel door slammed shut.
Emily couldn't breathe.
Daniel stood motionless.
His hands slowly curled into fists.
The Plan
Minutes passed before either of them spoke.
Emily broke the silence.
"They're using Noah."
Daniel nodded.
"They always do."
"You really love him."
"He's my son."
"And our baby?"
Daniel looked at her.
For the first time in years...
There were no lies.
"I already failed one family."
His voice was barely audible.
"I won't fail another."
Emily didn't answer.
She wasn't ready to forgive him.
Perhaps she never would.
But she believed one thing.
He meant those words.
The Escape Begins
Late that evening...
Daniel left to meet Richard again.
Before leaving, he quietly placed a key on the table.
Whether intentionally or accidentally...
Emily couldn't tell.
The lock clicked.
The steel door closed.
She waited exactly sixty seconds.
Then stood.
The key fit.
The hallway outside was empty.
Concrete walls stretched in both directions.
Industrial lights buzzed overhead.
She slipped the screwdriver from her sleeve and tucked the tiny recorder into her pocket.
If she survived...
The conversation with Richard could expose everything.
A faint sound echoed from somewhere nearby.
Voices.
She moved carefully.
Every corner revealed another corridor.
Another locked room.
Then she heard crying.
Soft.
Weak.
She followed it.
Inside a narrow storage room sat a young woman tied to a chair.
She looked barely twenty.
Her face was bruised.
Emily rushed inside.
"I'm here."
The woman looked up in terror.
"No."
"You have to leave."
Emily began cutting the ropes with the screwdriver.
"What's your name?"
"Sophie."
"Can you walk?"
Sophie nodded weakly.
"They'll hear us."
Emily finally freed her hands.
"We'll worry about that later."
As Sophie stood, something slipped from her jacket.
An identification badge.
Emily picked it up.
Her heart stopped.
The badge didn't belong to Sophie.
It belonged to an FBI Special Agent.
Emily looked closer.
The photograph showed a familiar face.
Rebecca Collins.
Except the badge listed another name.
Rebecca Collins â Undercover Division 7
Issue Date:
Nine years earlier.
Emily frowned.
Rebecca had told everyone she joined the FBI seven years ago.
The dates didn't match.
Before she could think further...
Alarms suddenly blared throughout the underground facility.
A mechanical voice echoed through the corridors.
Unauthorized movement detected.
All exits locked.
Red emergency lights flooded the hallway.
Somewhere in the distance...
A man shouted.
"They're escaping!"
Emily grabbed Sophie's hand.
"Run!"
Behind them, heavy steel doors began slamming shut one after another.
And far down the corridor...
Daniel heard the alarm.
He closed his eyes.
"They found her."
Then he did the one thing the Circle had never imagined he would do.
May you like
He turned his gun on his own men.
End of Chapter 10
