“That bitch, we are gonna catch you!”
“Come out!”
“If you don’t, we’ll kill the old lady!”
“And your husband! If you don’t show yourself, we’ll ruin him!”
Wiona stood there, watching the angry crowd on the other side of the towering wall of flames. She couldn’t help but let out a cold, mocking smile. “Well, thanks for the favor.” They weren’t getting to her anytime soon.
The fire kept spreading, growing hotter and wilder, until the men panicked and took off running. There was no way they could cross that blazing mess to reach her.
Wiona turned to Bianca, who was still frozen in shock. Without hesitation, she grabbed the rock she’d hidden behind her back and slammed it down on Bianca’s head. Bianca’s eyes rolled back and she crumpled to the ground. Wiona nudged her with her foot. No response. So she crouched beside Bianca and slapped her face ten times, hard, until her own hand was stinging.
“A little payback never hurt anyone,” Wiona muttered. “Bianca, I’ll collect the rest next time.”
She searched Bianca’s pockets, found her phone, and unlocked it using Bianca’s fingerprint. Kneeling on the ground, she called the police.
“Hello? Is this the police?”
“I’m out in the west suburbs…” Wiona glanced up at the sky, using the moon and the Big Dipper to guess her location. “There’s been a kidnapping. Mrs. Grace Salisbury and Jace Salisbury, the president of Salisbury Corporation, have been taken. All I know is it’s an abandoned building, and there’s a huge fire outside… I’m leaving this phone here so you can track it. Please hurry!”
She hung up, the phone still clutched in her hand. For a moment, she thought about calling someone else, but in the end, she didn’t.
Instead of climbing over the guardrail to the highway, Wiona followed the fence, heading back toward the city as quickly as she could. But after only ten minutes, her legs gave out. She slid down a slope, sat on the damp ground, and pressed her hand to her stomach. The stress, the fear, the frantic dash through the grass… it was all too much. Her stomach clenched, pain tightening inside her.
She was terrified. This was even scarier than facing those thugs.
“Stay with me, babies. It’s my fault… I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you better.” Her voice shook. “Please, don’t leave me. Just stay safe inside, okay?”
Wiona lay back on the cold, damp ground, not caring that the dew was soaking her clothes. She needed a break, just for a moment, her hands pressed tight to her belly, hoping her babies could somehow feel her strength and how much she wanted them to be okay.


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