Chapter 283

"What the hell?"

Dante stood so abruptly that his chair crashed backward.

The sudden darkness swallowed the room. The screen vanished, the desk lights died, and the low hum of the security equipment cut out.

For a second, he couldn’t see anything.

Then he heard Adrian’s chair scrape across the floor.

"Don’t move," Dante snapped.

Adrian was already moving.

He drove his hand across the desk, sweeping the pen and several papers onto the floor. His other hand reached toward the sound of Dante’s voice, but the older man had already turned away.

A door slammed somewhere in the corridor.

Dante cursed.

"Ethan!"

There was mo answer.

He pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and switched it on. The narrow beam cut across the room, illuminating the scattered papers, the overturned chair, and Adrian standing on the opposite side of the desk.

For a moment, they stared at each other.

Dante’s face changed.

Whatever had happened to the lights, it had happened at the worst possible moment.

He turned toward the door.

"Stay here."

Adrian moved to intercept him.

Dante struck him across the face with the flashlight.

The blow caught Adrian near the cheekbone. He staggered, and Dante used the moment to slip past him.

Adrian smacked his face back. "You’re making a mistake!" Adrian shouted.

Dante recovered quickly, and was already running. He had no intention of leaving Emilia in a dark room with men he could no longer see.

He had spent too long arranging this.

He had spent years waiting for the opportunity to put Adrian Ashford in a position where money, influence, and pride meant nothing.

He was not going to let a power failure ruin everything.

He raced into the corridor, the flashlight beam swinging wildly across the walls.

"Where is she?" he shouted.

A man appeared at the far end of the passage. "Sir—"

"Find the girl!"

"The lights—"

"I don’t care about the lights! Find her!"

The man disappeared.

Dante turned toward the staircase.

If the power had failed throughout the building, the security doors might have disengaged. The cameras were useless. The men who had been watching the corridors would be moving blindly, trying to understand what had happened.

It was a disaster. But it was not yet a defeat.

Dante had a gun. He had men, and he still had Emilia. He would find her. He would put her back in his hands, and then he would make Adrian sign every document.

If he had to drag the man’s girlfriend into the room and force him to watch, he would.

Dante reached the staircase.

Behind him, Adrian was already moving.

...

Adrian heard the gunshot before he reached the corridor.

He stopped.

The sound had come from somewhere deeper inside the building, followed by a shout and the crash of something heavy falling.

For one terrible second, his mind went blank.

Then he heard a woman’s voice.

It was not Emilia’s, but Selena.

"Please!"

Adrian turned toward the sound.

The door to the adjoining room stood open. A narrow beam of light swept across the floor from somewhere inside, then disappeared.

He ran toward it. "Mrs. Hayes?"

"Adrian?" Her voice was frightened, strained. "I’m here."

He entered the room and found her beside the staircase, her wrists bound and a chain looped around one ankle. She was trying to stand, but the chain prevented her from moving more than a few feet.

Adrian dropped to his knees beside her. "Are you hurt?"

"My wrists. I don’t—"

He was already reaching for the restraints. "Stay still."

His fingers found the knot behind her back. It had been tied tightly, but the person who had secured it had been more concerned with keeping Selena in place than making it impossible to undo.

Adrian worked quickly.

"Where’s Emilia?" Selena asked.

"We’re getting her out."

"Where is she?"

"I don’t know yet."

Selena’s breathing became uneven. "Adrian—"

"I’ll find her."

He freed one wrist, then the other.

The chain around her ankle was attached to a metal bracket near the staircase. Adrian examined it briefly, searching for a lock or a release mechanism.

He found a small clasp.

It took him several seconds to work it free.

When the chain finally dropped, Selena stumbled forward.

Adrian caught her. "Easy."

She gripped his arm. "She was here. Dante took her away. I heard him—"

"I know."

Adrian looked at her.

Selena’s face was pale, her eyes wide with fear. "He told her to go with Ethan. He said he needed to speak with you. I thought—"

She stopped, unable to finish.

Adrian steadied her. "Listen to me. I need you to get out of this room."

"I’m not leaving Emilia."

"Mrs. Hayes—"

"She’s my daughter."

"I know." Adrian held her gaze.

He understood.

He couldn’t afford to waste time arguing with Selena, but he also couldn’t drag her through the building while Dante was armed and moving toward Emilia.

He looked toward the corridor.

A flashlight beam swept across the wall and disappeared.

He heard footsteps.

More than one person.

"Mrs. Hayes, I need you to trust me for a few minutes."

Selena’s mouth tightened. "How can I?"

Adrian took her hand. "Because I am going to bring her back to you."

She stared at him. Then, with visible effort, she nodded. Adrian helped her stand and guided her toward the door.

"Go down the corridor. There are men outside who will get you to the car. Stay with them. Don’t stop for anyone."

Selena caught his wrist. "Adrian."

He turned.

Her eyes were shining. "Please bring my baby home."

He squeezed her hand. "I will."

Then he let her go.

Selena moved into the corridor, one hand pressed against the wall for balance.

Adrian waited until he heard someone call her name from farther down the passage. Only then did he turn and run after Dante.

........

Emilia had never been so afraid of the dark.

She was in a narrow room she had never seen before, with Ethan standing a few feet away and the gun still in his hand.

The lights had vanished without warning.

For a second, neither of them moved.

Then Ethan swore. "What the—"

Emilia didn’t wait.

She twisted against the restraints around her wrists, trying to find enough space to pull her hands free.

Ethan turned toward the door. "Stay there."

She moved.

He heard her. "Hey!"

His hand caught the back of her shirt, and he dragged her backward.

Emilia struck at him with her elbow.

The blow caught his ribs. He grunted, loosened his grip, and she tore herself away.

She ran.

The corridor was almost completely dark, illuminated only by the faint emergency lights near the floor. She could hear voices from several directions, the sound of doors opening, and men shouting instructions to one another.

She had no idea where she was going.

She only knew she couldn’t stay.

Her hands were still bound behind her back, making it difficult to balance as she ran. She stumbled against the wall, caught herself, and kept moving.

Somewhere behind her, Ethan shouted her name.

She didn’t stop. She reached the end of the corridor and found a staircase.

She climbed.

The steps were narrow, and the darkness made it difficult to see where each one ended. She kept one shoulder against the wall, moving as quickly as she dared.

A door stood at the top.

She pushed it open, and cold air struck her face. For a moment, she didn’t understand what she was seeing.

Then she realised she was outside.

The roof stretched beneath the night sky, the sea of darkness beyond the building broken only by distant lights. The wind moved across the open space, carrying the smell of rain and damp concrete.

Emilia stepped onto the roof.

She needed somewhere to hide.

Somewhere she could untie her wrists, find a way out, and get away from Dante before he found her again.

She turned toward a structure near the far side of the roof, hoping it might offer cover.

A sound came from behind her.

The door slammed.

Emilia froze, and then she ran.

She didn’t make it far.

A hand closed around her arm.