Emma's hands trembled around the gun, but she held her ground.
Matteo emerged from the shadows of the tunnel, eyes gleaming like a predator. The red glow of the emergency lights painted his face with a hellish hue. Behind him, two of his men flanked the corridor, weapons raised.
"Bold," Matteo said with a sneer. "But stupid."
"I've had enough of men thinking I'm weak," Emma said. "You want me? Come get me."
She fired.
The shot went wide, but it startled one of his guards, giving Alexander just enough time to grab Emma and yank her behind the corner.
A flurry of bullets tore through the space they had occupied seconds before.
"We need to move!" Alexander growled, dragging her toward the emergency shaft.
He kicked open a concealed panel in the wall. Behind it, a rusted metal ladder led up into darkness.
"You first!" he ordered.
Emma scrambled up the ladder, ignoring the sting in her arms and legs as metal bit into her skin. Below her, Alexander fired a few more rounds to suppress Matteo's advance before climbing after her.
The ladder led into a maintenance chamber. From there, they navigated a maze of corridors, storage spaces, and ventilation shafts. Finally, a sliver of moonlight appeared through a grate above.
Freedom.
Alexander heaved the grate open, then helped Emma out into the cold mountain air. They collapsed behind a cluster of rocks.
"I can't believe we made it," Emma whispered, breathless.
"We haven't. Not yet."
They looked back. Smoke billowed from the mountain as alarms blared faintly in the distance.
Then a sound—helicopter blades.
Alexander's face darkened. "Dante."
Emma tensed. "He found us?"
Alexander nodded grimly. "And if he's here… he doesn't plan on letting us live."
---
The helicopter descended slowly, its spotlight cutting through the trees like a blade of judgment. Alexander pulled Emma down into the foliage.
"We have to move," he whispered. "There's a safehouse about half a mile north."
Emma glanced over her shoulder at the smoke rising from the hidden compound. "Everything's gone, isn't it?"
Alexander's jaw clenched. "Everything I built, burned to the ground. Matteo didn't just want control. He wanted to erase me."
"And me?" Emma asked. "What did he want from me?"
Alexander looked at her, guilt flickering in his eyes. "He wanted leverage. To hurt me through you."
They began moving through the trees, the underbrush crackling beneath their boots. Overhead, the helicopter circled again.
"What happens if Dante catches us?" she asked.
"He'll kill me. And force you to take my place in whatever twisted game he's playing with the Blackwood empire."
They moved in silence for a moment, each lost in the enormity of what had just happened.
"I don't know who to trust anymore," Emma finally said.
Alexander stopped. "You don't have to trust me. But you need to believe this—I will never let them touch you."
Emma wanted to believe him. God, she wanted to. But trust had become a fragile currency.
They reached a ravine just as the helicopter spotlight shifted. A moment later, a search team disembarked in the clearing behind them.
"We have to jump," Alexander said, pointing to the narrow ledge across the chasm.
Emma stared at it, wind howling through the gap. "You're insane."
"Probably. But it's the only way."
He took a running start and leaped.
For a second, Emma's breath caught—but he landed safely, rolling on the other side.
"Your turn!" he called.
She backed up, heart hammering. The spotlight was closing in.
"Emma, now!"
She ran.
Leaped.
Her foot slipped. She screamed—but Alexander caught her wrist, yanking her up with a grunt.
They collapsed together, breathless.
The roar of the helicopter receded as they crawled deeper into the forest. Emma's hands were scraped, her body sore, but her mind was sharper than ever.
This was no longer just about surviving.
This was about taking back control.
---
They finally reached the safehouse just before dawn. It was a camouflaged structure buried beneath ivy and rock, only noticeable by the faint glint of steel in the early light.
Alexander keyed in a code. The door slid open with a hiss.
Inside, the air was stale, but the interior was stocked: emergency supplies, weapons, medical kits.
Emma sank into a battered chair. "Is there any place in your life that isn't built like a war bunker?"
Alexander smirked wearily. "Not anymore."
He knelt beside her, checking a cut on her arm. "You were incredible back there. Brave."
Emma looked at him, heart thudding. "Don't fall in love with me now, Alex. We're still in hell."
He touched her face gently. "Too late."
She wanted to pull away. To shield herself. But when he kissed her, she didn't resist.
For a moment, there was no war. No lies. Just the ache of two people clinging to something real.
But the moment shattered when the emergency alert lit up on the console.
Alexander turned, frowning. "Encrypted signal. It's coming from inside the compound ruins."
Emma's stomach twisted. "What does it say?"
He tapped the keyboard.
A message blinked to life.
I'm alive. Matteo is lying. Meet me. -Isabella
Emma's mouth dropped open. "She's alive?"
Alexander stared at the screen.
"But how?"
The coordinates appeared beneath the message. Deep inside enemy territory.
"It's a trap," he said.
Emma stood. "Or it's the truth. And we're the only ones who can find out."