Chapter 124 The Rescue

Chapter 124 The Rescue
\-Colin-

I stared at the blue dot on my phone, barely breathing as I watched it sit in the same place on the outskirts of the city.

Lilith.

Her location was coming from a tracking app I'd put on her phone. 

She had stopped sharing it with me after our last fight, or at least she thought she had. What she didn't know was that I'd found another way to see the location through the account we'd once shared.

I knew how wrong it was.

I'd told myself it was because I needed to know she was safe.

The truth was uglier, I couldn't let her disappear from my life completely.

But tonight, that guilt barely registered because the location wasn't moving.

She'd returned my last call with a text, saying she'd gone on a retreat, that we'd talk when she got back.

Which was odd because we'd ended badly the last time. So out of curiosity, I decided to look and found this place.

I looked at the address again. It was an abandoned warehouse.

My stomach tightened as I picked up my phone and called 911.

“My pregnant girlfriend is missing,” I said when the operator answered. “I have her location. She's inside a warehouse on—”

I gave them the address and the details I had.

“How do you know she's inside?”

“I don't know if she's alone. I just know her phone is there, and she hasn't moved.”

The operator told me officers were being dispatched, and asked me to stay put.

I should have listened. I should have stayed in the car.

But then I looked through the windshield at the warehouse ahead, and two men stood outside. And all I could think about was Lilith being somewhere inside with them.

“I can't wait,” I whispered to myself and got out of the car.

I kept to the shadows as I approached the building, but one of the men noticed me before I reached the entrance.

“Hey!”

I froze.

He started toward me. I backed away, but the second man stepped in from the other side, blocking my path.

There was no plan after that.

So I reacted.

The first man grabbed me, and we went down hard. I managed to shove him away, but the second man was on me before I could get
up. He drove me against the side of the building, and pain shot through my shoulder.

“Get the hell off me, fuck face!” I shouted, swinging blindly.

He hit me again, and my vision blurred.

Then I heard something, a muffled voice from inside. “Colin?”

My heart stopped.“Lilith!”

The man's grip tightened around me.

I fought harder.

“Lilith!”

“Colin!”

Her voice came again, clearer this time.

She was inside.

I twisted free long enough to stumble through the warehouse door and the sight that greeted me made my blood run cold.

Lilith was tied to a chair. A woman and a young man were also seated in that position.

Vanessa stood in front of them, and the moment I entered, she turned.

For a moment, none of us moved, then she smiled.

“Well, would you look at that,” she said quietly. “He came for you, Lilith.”

I stared at Lilith, her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head quickly. “No. Colin, get out of here.”

Vanessa laughed. “How sweet. Aren't you supposed to be mourning your grandfather?”

I stared at her in confusion, but before I could process anything, one of the men shoved me forward. 

I stumbled, catching myself against a crate. The man then forced me to my knees.

“Mrs Ashford, what's going on—”

“Oh, don't be so daft, Colin,” she said casually. “You already know what this is.”

At that moment, her phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen. Then her expression changed.

“James…” she said as she slipped the phone into her pocket. 

She turned to Lilith. “Your father is finished.”

Then her gaze settled on the three of them.“And now I can finish this.”

Lilith stared at her. “Mother, please.”

Vanessa's smile returned. “Family reunion is over.”

“You're insane,” Lilith whispered.

“You're right.” Vanessa's voice was strangely calm. “I'm finally done pretending to be anything else.”

She looked at me. “You should have stayed away—”

“I tried, and I couldn't—”

“You sound really pathetic right now,” she said, her voice filled with rage.

I glanced toward Lilith. She was watching me, silently begging me not to make things worse.

Then I noticed the young man, he was looking at Vanessa, but from my angle I could see he was working on the rope.
Slowly and carefully, trying not to draw attention.

I forced myself to look away. 

Vanessa turned toward the warehouse doors. “Take them outside.”

One of the guards moved toward Lilith.

That's when the young man pulled his hand free. He moved before any of us could react.

His chair tipped sideways as he threw himself into the man nearest him. They crashed into a stack of crates, sending several boxes tumbling to the floor.

Everything erupted at once. The woman screamed in her seat and 

Lilith kicked against the chair.

I lunged toward the man nearest to me, and no one realized that Vanessa had reached for a weapon lying near the crates until a shot exploded through the warehouse.

The young man dropped.

“David!” The woman’s scream ripped through the room.

I froze.

Vanessa turned the gun toward me. “Don't.”

I stopped.

Lilith was crying now. “David…”

Vanessa didn't even look at him, she kept the gun trained on me.

Then she looked at Lilith and told one of her men to untie her. 

The man, who had recovered from the struggle, moved behind Lilith and cut the rope around her ankles.

“Stand up.”

Lilith stared at her. “Mother…”

“I said stand!” Her voice echoed.

She stumbled to her feet.

Vanessa nodded toward the door. “Walk.”

“Don't.” I shook my head.

Don't move. Don't give her what she wants.

But Vanessa raised the weapon slightly. “Now.”

So Lilith took a step toward her. 

The first man held me down while the other stood next to the woman.

David laid there in a pool of his blood.

“You don't have to do this, please,” I begged.

Vanessa gave me a strange smile. “Yes, I do.”

She backed toward the entrance, keeping the weapon trained on Lilith as she moved toward her. Her hand found the door handle, and she pulled it open.

Floodlights suddenly washed across the warehouse.

“Police!”

Vanessa froze.

“Drop the weapon!”

More voices followed from outside.

“Get on the ground!”

Red and blue lights swept through the open doorway, flashing across the warehouse walls and washing over all of us.

Vanessa’s eyes widened as she briefly glanced at the officers surrounding the warehouse.

Then to the gun in her hand. Then to me.

And finally, to Lilith. 

For one terrifying second, I thought she'd shoot her. 

The officers' voices screamed in the background, but they'd blurred into something incomprehensible beneath the pulse ringing in my ears.

Then—

The weapon slowly lowered in her trembling hand.

Outside, the officers closed in, pining Vanessa to the ground as Lilith stood there frozen.

Time slowed around us as I reached her, pulling her into a tight hug.

“It's okay, Lilith. I've got you.”