Chapter 232

Evelyn

"What's the plan?" I asked Chloe, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand after finishing the water she'd given me.

God. I hadn't realized how parched I was until now. It was like pouring water over a desert-bottomless, dry, aching.

She looked at me for a moment, then exhaled slowly. "If I'm being honest? There's no perfect plan. Nothing with a hundred percent chance of success. Not against a man like Tyler." Her eyes were honest-raw and unguarded. "But what I can promise you is this: you're going to make it out of here. Alive. With your baby. Even if the plan fails, I'll make sure you don't."

She gave me a small, weary smile and reached across to squeeze my hand.

"It's late," she added gently. "You should try to sleep a little."

"B-but-" My voice cracked with resistance. I didn't want to sleep. Sleeping felt too much like surrender.

"I know," she cut in softly. "But I can't make the call to Jacob right now. Even though I want to. Tyler's got this place locked down with every kind of surveillance you can imagine. If I make one wrong move, we'll be caught red-handed. And if that happens..." her jaw tensed, "he'll transfer you somewhere worse than this. Somewhere I won't even know. Somewhere no one will ever find you."

The thought made my skin crawl.

She continued, "We have to wait until tomorrow. He'll go out for supplies—and the drugs he's been using. He can't function without them. He will leave, Evelyn. And when he does, that's when we move. That's our window."

I nodded faintly, still brushing my fingers over my belly.

Sienna.

I didn't want to die. I wanted to hold her. Raise her. See her smile, see her cry, walk, fall, rise.

"You think we'll really make it out of here?" I whispered. My voice trembled. I wasn't even sure if I was asking her or myself.

Chloe didn't hesitate. "Yes. You will. You and Sienna will have a long, beautiful life together."

A small, melancholic smile crept across my lips. I didn't know if I believed her-but God, I wanted to.

I leaned back into the chair. And as if exhaustion had been waiting for permission, it wrapped its arms around me and pulled me under.

***

Jacob

"That bastard's been planning this for a long time," Joey's voice crackled through the video call, his face stern on the screen. "The place he took her to-it's sealed. Tracker signals are blocked. Security's tight, almost military-grade. If there's a glitch, we'll find it, but Jacob..." he paused, then sighed, "it's damn near impossible. I don't want to disappoint you, but I need to be straight with you. We can't alert him—not even slightly. If he finds out we're on his trail... we don't know what he'll do to her."

"What the hell do we do then, Joey?" I snapped, pacing in the cold dark beside my car, parked in the middle of nowhere. I didn't even know how far I'd driven-l just knew I had to find her. "I have less than twenty-four hours. He told me he'd kill her. Kill her, Joey. That's my fucking Evelyn! If anything happens to her—"

"Jacob." His voice was firm now. "You need to calm down. If you lose it, we lose time. We lose her. I have a plan, and it's all we've got but it might actually work. We just need to be smart."

"What plan?" My hands trembled as I ran them through my hair. I hated the helplessness.

"It's risky, I won't lie," Joey admitted. "But look-if Tyler really just wanted her dead, he would've done it already. He gave you forty-eight hours because he's playing a game. That means he's got a motive-something deeper. Something bigger. He took her somewhere so secure, so hidden, because he wants control, not chaos. That's his weakness-we use it."

He paused to pull something up on his screen.

"This is my best team," he said, pointing at the encrypted feed. "They aren't police. They don't trigger media alerts, no news leaks, no scandals. Just a clean, focused search. These guys are ghosts-they'll track her down without a trace."

"I get that they're good," I muttered, jaw tight, "but if Tyler catches wind of anything, he'll hurt her. That's a risk I can't take."

Joey frowned, his gray brows creasing as he leaned closer to the camera. "I hate saying this, but... it's the only plan we've got. He's too careful. This wasn't some heat-of-the-moment crime. He's been planning this for months, maybe longer. Every lead is buried. Every trail, wiped. He's locked us out and left us with nothing but shadows."

I didn't answer.

Because I couldn't.

Because all I could see were flashes of her-of Evelyn. Her laugh, her stubbornness, the night she whispered she loved me over the crashing waves. The way her eyes softened when she talked about the baby. About our baby. And just like that, the present cracked under the weight of the past, and I was standing in the middle of a glitch in reality-between memory and decision.

And I knew what I had to do.

I had to save her.

Even if it meant walking straight into the fire.

"Alright," I said, my voice low but steady. "Give me the plan, Joey."

***

Evelyn

I ran. And ran. And ran...

He was right behind me, screaming, knife glinting in his hand.

"I'll rip her out of you, Evelyn!" Tyler roared. "I'll cut Sienna out and make you watch. Then I'll kill you-slowly."

A sob clawed its way from my throat as I stumbled through the dark, my legs barely holding up. My lungs burned. Panic surged through every inch of my body. Then-

Pain. White-hot pain as I fell and he was there-right above me, knife raised.

And I screamed.

"No-!"

"Evelyn. Sweetheart-open your eyes."

A gentle tap on my cheek brought me back. blinked, disoriented. My skin was soaked with sweat my breath ragged, my heart galloping like it was trying to escape my chest. s

"It's okay," Chloe said softly. Her face hovered above mine, worry etched into her usually composed features. "You were screaming. Just a nightmare. You're safe."

I looked down in a flash, both hands rushing to my stomach.

Sienna.

My baby bump rose and fell with my breath. I let out a shaky exhale. She was still there. Still safe.

Chloe pulled me into a careful hug, her arms surprisingly warm and steady. "It's okay," she repeated. "You both are okay."

I didn't know why, but those words-we are safe-felt like an anchor. I needed to hear them more than I realized. I let myself believe them for just a moment.

But then-

Bang.

The door slammed open with a violent thud. Chloe and I jumped.

Tyler stood in the doorway, his eyes bloodshot, his shirt wrinkled, a knife twirling in his fingers. He looked like he hadn't slept-or worse, like he'd been awake and doing things no one should.

s

"What the fuck is going on?" His gaze swept over the two of us. Chloe was still

holding me. I clung to her without thinking.

"Did you try to hurt her?" he sneered, stalking closer. "Why was she screaming?"

I blinked. Why did he even care? He wanted me dead.

"She had a nightmare," Chloe said evenly. "And unlike you, I'm not a monster. I'm not here to hurt her."

His brows lifted. "Wow. That's rich." lifted.

He slipped the knife into his pocket and stepped toward us, smirking. "One lifetime mistake and the wife bonding now? Touching Really dust

a bit too late for talk, donust

girl you think?"

s

He crouched down beside me, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Forget her," he

said, voice sugary with mock concern. "Tell me, my sweet Belladonna... what was the nightmare?"

I froze.

I could smell the sharpness of his breath. I clutched Chloe's hand tighter.

"Tyler, this isn't right..." Chloe said, voice shaking. "Just let her go. You can still—"

Before she could finish, Tyler grabbed her jaw so hard it cracked. She yelped in pain as he shoved her back.

"Did I fucking ask for your opinion, you useless bitch?" he growled, his face contorting with rage. "You open your mouth again and I'll kill her just to shut you

up."

He turned to me again, back to that chilling calm. He crouched lower.

"So," he whispered. "What did you dream about?"

"Tyler, please "

"Tell me," he said, flicking the knife halfway out of his pocket, "or I put it to use on

her first."

I saw the look in his eyes and I knew he meant it.

"I'll tell you," I gasped, tears streaming down my face. "Please, just—don't hurt

her."

He grinned, satisfied, and leaned in.

"I saw myself running," I whispered. "Trying to escape. And you were chasing

me... and then you—"

"Stabbed this little baby bump?" He tilted his head toward my belly.

My breath caught. I nodded.

"Damn," he said with a chuckle. "Even your subconscious knows me well."

He stood, wiped a tear off my cheek like it was some sick game, then turned to

Chloe.

"Watch her. Don't move. I'll be back in an hour."

He turned on his heel and left.

The silence that followed was deafening. My ears rang.

Then Chloe leaned in close, her voice barely audible. "Ten minutes," she whispered. "Then we call Jacob."