Damian With our hearts heavy and our minds made up, I got into the backseat of my car while Victor got into the front; he was going to be my driver for our mission. It took us a few minutes before Xavier got in beside me. There was no turning back now; everything was set in place, and I listened to Victor as he filled us in on the news he got from Eliana. “They got the keys; that’s wonderful,” I said firmly, too rigid to show any excitement. I wondered for a few seconds why Eliana didn’t tell me directly, but I shrugged it off, hoping she wasn’t bearing a grudge with me for passing a message through Victor in the first place.“On your command, sir.” Victor said, his eyes steady on the wheels before darting to the rearview mirror, where our eyes met. I gave him a nod, and he raised his microphone to his lips.“Alright! Begin to move out, maintain a close range, and keep an eye on the vehicle in front of you. Avoid the cops and suspicion.” He ordered before returning it to the dashboa

Eliana We sat in the car clutching onto each other for our dear lives, unable to breathe or make a sound until we were far away from the estate. A part of me was thrilled and overjoyed, and the other part still couldn’t believe that it really happened, that we had gotten away from our nightmare, all of us and in one piece.“Well done, troops. Regroup at our dispatch location. This is me signing off.” Victor said into his microphone, breaking the silence, and I noticed a smile playing on his face. I couldn’t wait to speak to him; just looking at him filled my stomach with butterflies.I felt my cheeks get hot and immediately threw my gaze away from him and onto Pearl, who sat beside me. She was staring out the window; one hand was clutching her brother, and the other served as a chin rest.He was sprawled over all three of us, Pearl, Damian, and me, while Xavier sat in front with Victor. The car was so tight, but we couldn’t care less about that because all we cared about was the fa

DamianIt wasn’t until the sky was filled with light, too bright to ignore, that the rays found their way through the thick curtains and into the room. I tossed and turned, hoping my beautiful sleep wouldn’t come to an end, but when I felt my eyes open, I cussed under my breath, knowing it had.I turned to the right, where Mila usually slept beside me, and she was still there, sleeping softly, and I watched as she took slow breaths, the tempo of her heaving chest filling me with solitude. I made to touch her face and trace her brows but quickly pulled my hands away, scared to wake her up. Scared she would pick up the conversation from last night. I sat up in bed and picked up my phone from the bedstand to check the time. I gasped a little when I saw that it was almost 2pm and I’d almost spent the whole day sleeping when I had urgent matters to attend to. I stood up and hurried to the bathroom for a quick shower.Mila was awake when I got out, sitting in bed staring at a book I didn’t

Damian.The next room the doctor led us to was the one that Pearls alleged brother was in. I still had a lot of questions to ask not just Pearl but him too.How did he get there? And what history did he have with Preston but unfortunately, he was asleep, eyes closed shut or do I say unconscious due to the tubes coming out of his nose and mouth.“Amongst the people you brought in yesterday, he is in the worst condition.” The doctor stated and he looked through the folder in his hands.“We had to do an emergency transfusion when he came in last light, he has broken ribs and is completely malnourished, what on earth happened to him?” He asked, concern etched on his face as he looked from me to Victor and Xavier and then back to me.“Is he going to be okay?” I asked, quickly changing the subject. “Yes, we’ve stabilized him for now we will just have to keep a close eye on him.” He replied and I nodded.After that he led us to other rooms with other hostages, one after the other, some wher

Eliana “Where is Pearl?” He asked again, and my heart skipped a beat as he looked from me to Mila. The truth was, we were as confused as he was.“She left as soon as you did; she refused to stay back.” Mila explained, unable to keep eye contact with him.I watched as Damian's expression changed from concern to anger, his eyes narrowing as her words registered in his mind. I felt a pang of guilt, knowing I was about to add to his frustration."Damian, I'm so sorry," I said, trying to calm him down. "Pearl was...she was determined to go to the hospital. She said she couldn't just sit at home and do nothing while her brother was in a hospital bed." His face darkened with a frown. "And you let her go?" he asked, his voice low and even.Mila shook her head, her eyes welling up with tears. "I tried to stop her, Damian. I begged her to stay, but she refused. She said she had to see him, and I thought, we all thought, maybe she'd run into you at the hospital." She explained, although I coul