Chapter 18 Untitled Chapter
Kendrix left the house quieter than she arrived. No proper goodbye. No answers.
Just that name still sitting in her chest like a thorn she couldn’t pull out.
Luca.
The word didn’t belong anywhere in what she knew of Roberto. And that was the problem. Nothing about this world stayed simple.
Nora sat in the passenger seat, arms folded, watching the road with that look she got when something felt wrong.
Kendrix glanced at her. “Don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were thinking about it.”
Nora sighed. “You’re paranoid.”
“Living here does that to people.”
The car rolled through a quiet stretch of road. Trees on both sides. Shadows too long for the time of day.
Kendrix leaned her head back.
Luca.
The name wouldn’t leave her head.
“Everyone in this world is insane,” she muttered.
Nora didn’t answer.
Kendrix glanced over. “What?”
Nora’s eyes stayed on the road. She looked too focused. “Nothing.”
Kendrix frowned. Before she could push it, headlights flared in the rearview.
A car came up fast. Too fast. It didn’t slow. It lined up.
Nora saw it first. “Driver…”
Metal hit metal with a sound like a freight train clipping the car. The impact came from the rear passenger side, and the whole vehicle jerked sideways. Kendrix’s shoulder slammed into the door hard enough to knock the air out of her. For a second she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak.
“What the…!” The words tore out of the driver before he cut off to wrench the wheel. Tires screamed against asphalt as he fought to correct it.
Another hit. This one higher and harder, against the door pillar. The car shuddered and the rear tires lost grip. Kendrix’s stomach dropped.
“Hold on!”
The third hit was different. Clean and deliberate. No screech of warning, just a precise slam to the front quarter panel. The car spun half a rotation, then another. The world outside the windows became a blur of streetlights and wet roads. Then it stopped. Not because they had regained control. The engine coughed once and died, and the silence that followed hit harder than the crashes.
Kendrix’s ears rang. A high, thin whine sat over everything. She lifted her head slowly, tasting blood where she had bitten her cheek. Her hand fumbled for the door handle and missed the first time. “Are you…”
The driver didn’t answer. His forehead rested against the wheel, slack. Neither did the guard. Both slumped forward, unmoving.
Her breath caught, sharp and fast. “Nora?”
Nora was still there in the back with her, but her head lolled to the side. Eyes half-open, unfocused. Almost unconscious. Kendrix started to reach for her, her hands were shaking too bad.
“Kendrix…” Nora’s voice didn’t finish.
The passenger door opened and hands reached in. Not frantic. Precise.
Kendrix jerked back. “No…don’t…!”
Someone grabbed her arm roughly. Her struggle meant nothing.
“Nora!”
No response. Just stillness.
A cloth pressed to her face. Too quick to fight. Her grip slipped and her vision blurred.
“No…wait…”
Her voice cut off.
The last thing she saw was the car behind them pulling away smooth and quiet, like she had been collected, not chased.
. .
Kendrix woke up with a start. Something in the air said don’t move too fast. The ceiling wasn’t familiar. It was too plain, and too clean. Not the mansion. Not Maya’s house. Not anywhere she knew.
Her fingers curled against the sheets. It was silk and expensive. That alone made her alert.
“Okay,” she muttered. “That’s new.”
She sat up. The room was quiet in a way that didn’t feel natural. No footsteps. No voices. Just the low hum of AC.
She swung her legs off the bed and went straight for the door. It was locked. Of course.
“Right.”
No panic yet, she scanned the room. There were no cameras she could see. But she didn’t trust it.
Her eyes caught the window. The curtains were half-drawn. She pulled them open.
Bars hid behind the frame. Not prison bars. Professional security bars.
“This isn’t street work,” she muttered. “Hello?”
Her voice echoed.
“Is anyone going to explain what this is?”
The door opened. A man in a black suit, earpiece, and neutral face walked in. Not one of Roberto’s guards.
“Where am I?”
“You are safe, here.”
Kendrix laughed awkwardly.“No one says that when it’s true.”
There was no reaction, and that pissed her off.
“Who brought me here?”
He hesitated.
Kendrix caught it. “Say it.”
He glanced past her, like he was checking for permission. “I’m just following orders.”
“By who?”
He didn't answer.
“Oh,” she said. “So we’re doing the thing where nobody answers.”
“You are not in danger.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“You will remain here until further instruction.”
That line pissed her off more than the locked door.
“I’m not staying anywhere I didn’t agree to.”
The man didn’t move, but his posture shifted. Kendrix stared at him, then exhaled through her nose.
“Fine.”
She stepped back. Not giving up, just recalculating.
“Can I at least get water?”
“Yes.”
He left and the door clicked shut.
Kendrix stood still a second, then sat on the edge of the bed. Her fingers tapped her knee while she thought.
“This isn’t Roberto’s style.”
The thought landed heavy. If it wasn’t him, someone else was moving inside his world, comfortable enough to take her.
She looked at the door. “Who the hell are you?”
. .
Elsewhere, a woman stood by a window, phone in hand. Not worried, just thoughtful. Like something had finally lined up.
On the screen, the text showed.
Target secured.
She locked the phone.
“No rush,” she murmured.
Behind her, someone asked, “Was it necessary?”
She didn’t turn. “Yes.”
“Now we see what he does.”
. .
Back in the room, Kendrix sat still. This wasn’t random. It was planned.
Someone had taken her off the board on purpose. And wherever Roberto was, he wasn’t the only one moving pieces anymore.
. .
Roberto felt it the second he stepped inside. Something was off. The lights were on. Everything looked the same. But the place was too quiet. Too empty.
His wet shoes squeaked against the marble as he walked in. No Nora in the kitchen. No Kendrix throwing tantrums. Nothing. Just dead silence.
Behind him, Skyler peeled off his gloves. Bash followed, muttering, “Why does this place feel haunted?”
No one answered.
Roberto scanned the entrance hall. A half-empty cup by the stairs. A jacket tossed over the couch. Normal stuff. Except for the missing people.
“Where’s Nora?” Skyler asked, low.
Roberto pulled out his phone and dialled Nora's number . Voicemail. He tried again. Nothing.
His face didn’t change, but the air got colder. Skyler saw it. Bash saw it too.
“Okay,” Bash said. “I don’t like this.”
Roberto turned and headed for the security room. Fast, but not rushed. Skyler and Bash moved with him.
The hallway lights cut sharp lines across the floor. Rain tapped at the windows.
The security room door was locked. Roberto didn’t bother knocking, he opened it. Monitors hummed. Cameras rolled. But the chairs were empty. No guards.