Chapter 12 - They Took Me Through the Service Corridor, but I Was No Longer the Woman They Could Silence
I let the stranger lead me.
Not because I trusted him.
Because I needed to see where he was going.
Mara had shown me the panic switch hidden in my bracelet.
I pressed it once.
Then again.
The man pushed me into a service elevator.
"Where's my mother?" I asked.
"Alive. For now."
I memorized his face in the emergency light.
A narrow scar crossed his chin.
He carried a hotel master key.
When the elevator stopped, I stumbled deliberately.
He caught my arm.
I pulled the fire alarm.
The corridor erupted in noise.
He cursed.
A door opened behind us.
Daniel appeared with two security officers.
The stranger ran.
He didn't get far.
I sank against the wall, shaking.
Cedric reached me minutes later.
He stopped in front of me.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
He waited while I caught my breath.
"I thought I'd lost you," he said.
His voice cracked on the last word.
I knelt beside his chair.
"You don't own me, Cedric."
"I know."
"And you can't promise nothing will happen."
"I know that too."
I touched his cheek.
"Then promise you'll tell me the truth. Even when it makes you look terrible."
He covered my hand with his.
"I can promise that."
Mara approached.
"We have the man who grabbed you. And Vittorio's driver."
"What about my mother?"
"She's being moved to a secure hospital."
I stood.
"I want to see her."
Mara nodded.
"You will. But first, there's something about Cedric's accident you need to hear."
Cedric closed his eyes.
May you like
I knew the truth would hurt.
I stayed.
