Chapter 13: Trapped

**Julia**

The room was cold, damp, and reeked of mildew. The only light came from a single bulb hanging overhead, casting long, flickering shadows on the stone walls. My wrists ached from the tight bindings, and I could feel the cold seeping through my clothes, chilling me to the bone. Ethan sat across from me, his hands tied behind his back, his face grim but composed. We were in trouble—serious trouble—and we both knew it.

The sound of the door locking behind us echoed in the small space, and I fought the rising sense of panic. Benny had us, and there was no way of knowing what he had planned. I glanced around the room, searching for anything, any way out, but there was nothing—no windows, no vents, just the thick stone walls closing in around us.

Ethan was silent, his eyes focused on the floor, his jaw clenched. I could feel the tension radiating off him, but I wasn’t sure if it was fear or frustration. Maybe both.

“Do you have a plan?” I whispered, not wanting to let my voice carry too far.

Ethan looked up, his eyes meeting mine. There was something in his gaze—an intensity, a desperation—that I hadn’t seen before. “We’ll figure something out,” he said quietly. “There’s always a way.”

I wanted to believe him. I really did. But we were tied up in a basement, completely at Benny’s mercy. The odds were stacked against us, and I wasn’t sure how much longer we had before Benny decided to “deal with us,” as he had so calmly put it.

We sat in silence for what felt like hours, the only sound the occasional creak of the floorboards above. My mind raced, going over every possible escape scenario, but they all ended the same way—with us dead. I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread settling in the pit of my stomach.

“How did he know?” I finally asked, breaking the silence. “How did Benny know we were coming?”

Ethan’s face darkened. “I don’t know. But someone must have tipped him off.”

I frowned, trying to piece it together. It didn’t make sense. Collins was the only one who knew the details of the operation, and he wouldn’t have betrayed us. But then again, we were dealing with Benny. He had eyes and ears everywhere, people bought and paid for. There were too many ways it could have gone wrong.

A sudden noise interrupted my thoughts—the sound of footsteps, heavy and deliberate, coming down the stairs. My heart leaped into my throat as the door to the basement creaked open, and two of Benny’s men stepped inside. Their faces were hard, unfeeling, and they carried a sense of menace that made my skin crawl.

“Get up,” one of them barked, grabbing Ethan by the arm and hauling him to his feet.

Ethan grunted, struggling against the tight grip, but he didn’t resist. I watched, my chest tightening, as the second man reached for me, pulling me to my feet just as roughly. My hands were still tied behind my back, and I stumbled, barely managing to stay upright as they dragged us toward the door.

“What are you going to do with us?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady even though fear was bubbling up inside me.

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he shoved us out of the basement and up the stairs. We were led down a narrow hallway, the walls closing in on us as the men pushed us forward. My heart raced, my mind spinning as I tried to come up with a way out. But every door we passed was locked, and every window was barred.

Finally, we were shoved into another room, larger than the basement but no less foreboding. A table sat in the center, and seated at that table, with a smug smile on his face, was Benny.

“Well, well,” Benny said, leaning back in his chair. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to make it this far. But I suppose every game has its surprises.”

I glared at him, my hands still tied, my muscles aching from the tension. “What do you want, Benny?”

His smile widened, but his eyes remained cold. “What do I want? I think the better question is what you want, Julia. You’ve been poking around my business for far too long, and now you’ve gotten yourself tangled up in something far beyond your control.”

“You’re going down,” I said, my voice steady despite the fear gnawing at me. “We have enough evidence to take you and your entire network down.”

Benny’s laugh echoed through the room, harsh and mocking. “Oh, Julia. You still don’t get it, do you? You think you’re the one holding the cards? You’re in my world now. And in my world, I make the rules.”

I glanced at Ethan, who stood silent beside me, his expression unreadable. Benny turned his attention to him, his smile fading slightly. “And you, Ethan. I expected better from you. After all we’ve been through, I thought you knew better than to bite the hand that feeds you.”

Ethan’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t respond. Benny stood up, slowly circling the table as he continued to speak. “You could have had everything, you know. Power, money, anything you wanted. But instead, you chose her.” He stopped in front of me, his gaze hard. “Tell me, Ethan. Was it worth it?”

Ethan’s eyes flicked to me, and for a moment, I saw something break through his hardened exterior. Regret. But when he spoke, his voice was steady. “Yes. It was worth it.”

Benny’s expression darkened, and he stepped closer, his voice low and menacing. “Loyalty is everything in this business, Ethan. And you? You threw it all away for nothing.”

I tensed, unsure of what Benny was planning, but before I could react, he turned back to his men. “Take them back to the basement. I’ll deal with them later.”

The men grabbed us again, roughly dragging us toward the door. My mind raced, panic surging through me. We couldn’t go back to that basement. If we did, there would be no escape. Benny wasn’t going to let us live. He was just toying with us, waiting for the right moment to end it.

As we were pulled down the hallway, I leaned toward Ethan, my voice barely above a whisper. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

Ethan nodded, his jaw set in determination. “When we get back to the basement, follow my lead.”

I didn’t have time to ask what he meant. The men dragged us down the stairs and shoved us back into the small, dark room. As soon as the door slammed shut, Ethan moved quickly, pulling something from his sleeve—a small, sharp blade. He must have hidden it during the chaos upstairs.

“Hold still,” he whispered, moving behind me. I felt the blade press against the ropes binding my hands, and within seconds, they were cut loose.

I rubbed my wrists, feeling the circulation slowly returning, but there was no time to waste. Ethan quickly cut his own ropes, then moved to the door, his ear pressed against the wood.

“They’re still outside,” he muttered. “We need a distraction.”

I glanced around the room, searching for anything we could use. There wasn’t much—a few old crates, some scraps of metal—but then I spotted a small, rusted pipe lying in the corner. It wasn’t much, but it might do the trick.

I grabbed the pipe, handing it to Ethan. He weighed it in his hand, then nodded. “This might work.”

We moved to the door, our breaths shallow as we prepared for whatever came next. I could hear the men talking outside, their voices low and indistinct. My heart pounded in my chest, every nerve on edge. We were about to make a run for it, and if we failed, Benny wouldn’t give us another chance.

Ethan glanced at me, his eyes steady. “Ready?”

I nodded, my pulse racing. “Let’s do this.”

With a swift motion, Ethan slammed the pipe against the door, creating a loud, metallic crash. The voices outside stopped abruptly, and I could hear the sound of footsteps approaching the door.

Ethan positioned himself beside the door, gripping the pipe tightly. I crouched beside him, my heart hammering in my chest. This was it. One shot.

The door creaked open, and as soon as one of the men stepped inside, Ethan swung the pipe, catching him across the head with a sickening thud. The man collapsed to the floor, unconscious. The second man barely had time to react before Ethan was on him, knocking him out cold with a swift blow.

I stood frozen for a moment, the adrenaline surging through me. We had done it. We were free.

But as Ethan stepped into the hallway, my relief was short-lived. From down the hall, I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps—more of Benny’s men, coming our way.

“We need to move. Now.”