Chapter 5

Emily’s heart pounded in her chest as the shadowy figure stepped into the dimly lit room. The light from the single bulb hanging overhead flickered, casting long, ominous shadows on the walls. The tension was suffocating, the air thick with fear and adrenaline. Emily could feel Isabella and Evelyn tensing beside her, ready to act, but unsure of what would come next.

The figure moved closer, stepping into the light just enough for them to see a flash of steel in his hand—a gun, pointed directly at Emily. She swallowed hard, her mind racing. Who was this man, and how had he found them so quickly?

“Where’s the money, Emily?” the man repeated, his voice cold, devoid of emotion.

Emily tried to steady her breathing, forcing herself to think clearly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, her voice trembling only slightly. “There’s no money here.”

The man smirked, his eyes narrowing. “Don’t play dumb with me. Lucas owed a lot of people, and now that he’s gone, his debts are your problem. You’re going to pay up, one way or another.”

Jane, who had been standing by the window, stepped forward. Her face was pale, but her eyes blazed with determination. “You think you can just walk in here and threaten us?” she snapped. “You’re not the only one who knew Lucas’s secrets.”

The man's gaze flicked to Jane, and for a moment, there was something almost like recognition in his eyes. “Ah, Jane,” he said softly, a twisted smile playing on his lips. “I wondered when you’d show up.”

Emily’s blood ran cold. Whoever this man was, he knew far more about them than they had realized. And if he knew Jane… What else did he know?

Evelyn, sensing the danger escalating, moved subtly closer to Emily, her voice calm but firm. “Whatever you think Lucas owed you, we’re not the ones who can pay it. He’s gone. And if you kill us, you’ll never get what you’re after.”

The man chuckled, a sound that sent a shiver down Emily’s spine. “Oh, I’m not here to kill you. Not yet, anyway. But the people I work for… they’re not as patient. They want what’s theirs, and if I don’t deliver, they’ll come after all of you. And trust me, you don’t want them to find you.”

Isabella, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. “Who are they? Who are you working for?” Her voice was sharp, cutting through the tension like a knife.

The man turned to her, his expression unreadable. “Let’s just say they’re the kind of people who don’t like to leave loose ends. And Lucas… he was a very loose end.”

Jane looked as though she was about to say something, but before she could, the man continued. “Here’s how this is going to go. You’re going to find Lucas’s money, and you’re going to give it to me. All of it. No tricks, no games. You have forty-eight hours. After that, we won’t be having another conversation.”

With that, he backed out of the room, the gun still trained on Emily until he reached the door. Then, without another word, he was gone, leaving the door wide open, the night air flooding in.

For a long moment, no one moved. The silence was thick, oppressive, as if the walls themselves were closing in around them. Then, finally, Emily exhaled, the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding escaping in a shaky rush.

“We’re in deeper than we thought,” Evelyn whispered, her voice barely audible.

Jane nodded, her face grim. “Lucas was into some bad stuff, but I didn’t know it went this deep. If we don’t find that money…”

Emily didn’t need her to finish the sentence. She knew all too well what would happen if they couldn’t deliver. But as she looked around the room, at the fear and determination in the eyes of the people she had come to trust, she knew one thing for certain: they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

But the question remained: Where was Lucas’s money? And how were they going to find it before time ran out?

As they began to strategize, sifting through the evidence they had gathered, a chilling realization dawned on Emily. What if the money wasn’t in a place? What If it was hidden in someone—specifically, in Alex? Lucas had always been secretive about their child, and she had never fully understood why. But now, pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. Could Lucas have hidden his fortune in a way that only Alex could access?

The Idea was terrifying, but it made a twisted kind of sense. If Lucas had been desperate enough, he might have done anything to keep his money safe—even if it meant putting his own child in the crosshairs of the dangerous people he’d wronged.

Emily’s mind raced as she considered the implications. If they were right, then Alex was in more danger than any of them had realized. And if they couldn’t figure out how to unlock whatever Lucas had hidden, they were all as good as dead.

As the night wore on, their desperation deepened. The walls of the safe house felt like they were closing in, the shadows growing darker, more oppressive. Emily knew they were running out of time, and with every passing minute, the danger grew closer.

But in the midst of their fear, there was a sliver of hope—a small, stubborn belief that they could still find a way out. They had to, for Alex’s sake, for each other’s sake. They couldn’t afford to fail.

As dawn began to break, casting a pale light through the windows, Emily looked at the exhausted faces around her and made a decision. They would find Lucas’s money, but they wouldn’t just hand it over to the man who had threatened them.

No, they would use it as leverage, turning the tables on their enemies.

But first, they had to unlock Lucas’s final secret. And with the clock ticking down, they knew that every second counted.

Unbeknownst to them, however, another twist was already in motion. Far away, in a darkened room filled with surveillance equipment, someone was watching. Every move they made, every word they spoke, was being monitored. And as the figure leaned back in the chair, a slow smile spread across their face.

The game was far from over. In fact, it was just beginning.