Chapter 17: The Price Of Silence

"He's hit! Edward, help me!" Serena shouted. The sound was loud and sharp.

I dropped to the floor next to Thomas. Blood was soaking his shirt. It was dark red, almost black in the dim room. He was gasping for air, and his eyes were filled with fear.

"They... they came for me," Thomas said, his voice weak. "The Bennets... they sent him."

"Don't talk, Thomas. Save your strength," I said. I took off my suit jacket and pressed it hard on the wound in his shoulder. He cried out in pain, but I had to keep the pressure. "Michael! Where is that ambulance?"

Michael was by the window. He was breathing hard. He had a tire iron in one hand and his phone in the other. "Three minutes away! I called the police too. The shooter is gone, but we can't stay here."

Serena was on the other side of her father. She held his hand tight. Her fingers were white. "Why, Dad? Why didn't you tell the truth ten years ago?"

Thomas looked up at her. A tear ran down his dusty face. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out just as the sirens got loud outside.

Two hours later, we were back in a hospital waiting room. It felt like a bad dream happening again. I sat on a hard plastic chair. I stared at the dried blood on my hands. Serena sat next to me. Her head was on my shoulder. She wasn't crying anymore. She was shaking with quiet anger.

"He's stable," a doctor finally said, walking over to us. "The bullet went through the soft part. No broken bones, but he lost a lot of blood. He’s sleeping now."

Serena let out a big sigh, but she didn't stand up. She looked at me, and her eyes were cold. "Edward, we can't keep doing this. My sister is dead. My father was almost killed in his own home. Lily is out there, and she’s winning."

"She’s not winning," I said, but I felt like I was lying. "She’s scared. People only use guns when they run out of lies. She’s trying to get rid of anyone who can prove she killed my father."

Michael walked over. He looked tired. He had a cup of coffee, but he wasn't drinking it. "The police took my report, but they won't do anything yet. The shooter left no clues, and no fingerprints. Lily owns this city, Ed. If we want to stay alive, we need to move."

I stood up. My mind was already making a plan. "We aren't going back to Oaktown. And Serena’s mother and brothers and sisters aren't safe there either. We're moving everyone to the penthouse."

"The penthouse?" Serena asked, looking up. "Is it safe?"

"It has private guards and a special elevator," I said. "It’s like a castle. It’s the only place where I can control who comes in and out."

By midnight, the penthouse was full. I had hired guards to stand at the front of the building and more to guard our door. Serena’s mother, Mary, was in the guest room. She was crying softly while her younger kids sat close together on the big couch. They looked scared, like they were in a new world. They were.

Serena was in the kitchen, making tea for her family. She moved slowly. I walked behind her and put my hands on her shoulders.

"They're safe now, Serena. I promise."

She turned around. "For how long, Edward? We’re hiding in a glass box in the sky. This isn't a home. It’s a cage."

"It's a cage for now while I build a case," I said. "I spent the last 1 hour talking to my friends in Europe. The Bennets are trying to pay people in France to burn the marriage papers. If those papers are gone, we lose the proof that they paid to keep a fake marriage alive for ten years."

"Then we go to France," Serena said.

"It’s too risky to travel right now."

"Then what do we do?" she asked, her voice getting louder. "Wait for them to send another shooter?

Just then, my phone rang. It was a blocked number. I looked at Serena, then at Michael, who was by the window. I put the phone on speaker.

"Edward," my mother’s voice was smooth like honey. "I heard about the trouble at the Blake house. So sad. People should be more careful with their home locks."

"Lily," I said angrily. "If you ever come near this family again, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in a dark room."

"Always so protective," she laughed. "But let’s be real, Edward. You’re playing a game you can't win. I’ve already fixed the papers in France. There is no record of Louise Bennet. There is no record of a fake marriage. You have a few computer files that any judge will say are fake."

"I have Thomas Blake," I said. "And he’s going to tell the truth."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. "Thomas is a scared man with a bad past. Who will the jury believe? A noble citizen like me, or a mechanic who took money to kill someone?"

"They’ll believe the truth," I said.

"The truth is what I say it is," Lily said. "But I’m calling to give you one last chance. Give me the recorder Simone gave you. If I have that, I’ll let the Blakes live. I’ll even give them enough money to move to a country where I can't find them."

Serena stepped closer to the phone. Her voice filled with anger. "You killed my sister, Lily. You stole her life and made her a ghost. You don't get to make deals anymore."

"Ah, the little wife," Lily said. "You should listen to her, Edward. She’s smarter than you. Think about it. The recorder for their lives. I’ll give you twenty-four hours."

The call ended.

I looked at Michael. "She’s lying about the French papers. If she had already burned them, she wouldn't be calling for the recorder. She’s scared of what Simone has."

"We need to listen to that recorder again," Michael said. "There has to be more. Simone wouldn't risk his life for just one talk."

Serena looked at her family. She was trying to keep them safe. She looked at her mother, her brothers and sisters, and her father in the hospital. "She thinks we're weak because we have people to lose. She thinks her money makes her a god."

"She’s about to learn that gods can fall," I said.

I turned to Michael. "Get the guards ready. We’re not waiting twenty-four hours. We’re going to the one place Lily thinks we’d never go."

"Where?" Serena asked.

"The Bennet Estate," I said. "If the Bennets are scared, they’re the weak part. Louise is the only one who can say the marriage was a lie. If we can get her to turn against her father and my mother, the whole plan falls apart."

Serena nodded. She looked strong and brave. "Then let’s go.