Chapter 19: Pier 42

The world slowed down. It was like looking through a camera that only saw one thing, the shooter didn’t blink. He was still. He was waiting for Edward to take one more step out in the open.

Edward didn’t see him. He was still looking at the boat. His hand was tight around his phone, waiting for Michael to answer. He was a man who believed in law and logic. He thought the police would end this. He didn’t know that out here, on the cold ground of Pier 42, logic was dead.

My hand was still in my pocket. My fingers touched the plastic pregnancy test. Two pink lines. A new life. A life that wouldn’t have a father if that man pulled the trigger.

"Edward, move!" I screamed.

I didn’t think. I didn’t do the math. I just threw my body forward. I hit Edward’s chest hard and pushed him toward the big metal shipping container to our left.

Crack…

The sound wasn’t like the movies. It was sharp. I felt a sting, a hot, sharp pain across my upper arm, but I kept moving. We crashed onto the gravel.

"Serena! Serena, stay down!" Edward yelled.

He pinned me to the ground. His body covered mine like a strong shield. His eyes were wide with a fear I had never seen before.

"Are you hit? Serena, look at me!"

I looked down at my arm. My sleeve was ripped, and a bright red line was growing on the cloth. It was just a graze, a shallow cut from a bullet meant for his heart.

"I'm okay," I said, but my chest felt tight. "He’s on the balcony. Second floor."

Edward looked at the blood on my arm, and something in him broke. The calm, smart lawyer was gone. A wild, angry rage took over. He grabbed his phone and yelled into it. "Michael! Pier 42! Shooter in the north warehouse! Get the police here NOW or I will deal with Gabriel myself!"

On the water, the boat’s engine came to life. Gabriel Bennet and the woman who looked like Lily, his mother’s sister, Aunt Catherine, were leaving. They saw the chaos. They knew their time was running out.

"They're getting away," I whispered, holding my arm.

Edward looked from the boat to my bleeding arm, then back to the warehouse where the shooter was hiding. He was torn. He wanted to chase the truth, but he couldn't leave me.

"Stay here," Edward said. "If you move from behind this steel, I will never forgive you. Do you understand?"

"Edward, no! He has a gun!"

He didn't wait. He stayed low, moving fast, running between the shipping containers.

I sat there, pulled my knees to my chest, and pressed my back against the cold metal. My heart was beating so hard I thought it would wake the baby. The baby. I put my hand over my stomach. My dress was dirty with oil and dirt, and my arm hurt, but I felt a strange, cold calm.

I wasn't just a girl from the valley anymore. I wasn't just a "sunshine" distraction. I was a mother protecting her own.

A few minutes later, the sound of sirens filled the air. Blue and red lights flashed on the old walls of the docks. Michael’s car stopped fast nearby, followed by four police cars.

"Serena!" Michael ran over, his gun in his hand but pointed down. He saw me against the container and got on his knees. "Where’s Edward?"

"He went after the shooter," I said, pointing toward the warehouse.

He looked at my arm. "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine, Michael. Go help him. Please."

Michael nodded to two officers, and they ran toward the warehouse. I stayed where I was, listening to the yelling, the dogs barking, and the boat sound fading away.

Ten minutes felt like ten years. Finally, I heard steps. Heavy, slow, and familiar.

Edward came out of the shadows of the warehouse. He looked rough. His grey suit was torn at the shoulder, and he had a dark bruise on his cheek. In his hand, he held a heavy black gun, the shooter’s gun.

He walked straight to me, dropped the gun on the ground, and pulled me up into his arms. He held me so tight I could barely breathe, his face in my neck.

"He’s down," Edward whispered. "The police have him. He was hired, Serena.

"And the boat?" I asked.

Edward pulled back, his eyes dark. "They didn't get far. The Coast Guard stopped them at the harbor. Gabriel is in custody. Catherine is... she’s talking. She’s scared of going to prison for her sister's crimes."

He looked at me, his fingers softly touching the cut on my arm. "You saved my life. Why would you do that? You could have been killed."

I looked at the chaos around us. The police tape, the shouting, the cold Oaktown wind. This was the moment. There was no more time for secrets. The fight was over, and the cleanup was starting.

"I had to," I said, my voice steady. "I wasn't just saving you, Edward."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small plastic stick. I put it in his hand.

Edward looked down at it. He was quiet for a long time, staring at the two pink lines. The wind blew his hair across his forehead, but he didn't move. The sirens seemed to fade away.

Slowly, he looked up at me. His eyes were wet. The man who lived by rules and facts looked like he had just seen a miracle.

"Serena?" he whispered, his voice shaking. "Is this... are we...?"

"We are," I said, tears finally running down my face. "I found out this morning."

Edward dropped to his knees right there on the dirty gravel of Pier 42. He put his forehead against my stomach and let out a long, shaky breath that sounded like a cry. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me like I was the most important thing in the world.

He stood up and kissed me. It wasn't a "contract" kiss. It wasn't a "thank you" kiss. It was a promise.

"We’re going to the hospital now," he said, his voice strong again, but full of warmth. "For your arm. And for the baby. And then, Serena, we are going home. A real home. No more ghosts."

As we walked toward the car, Michael came up to us, holding a tablet. "Edward, wait. We found something on Gabriel’s phone. A last message was sent to Lily right before we caught him."

Edward took the tablet. I leaned in to see.

The message was short: The girl knows about the French papers. The plan is dead. You’re on your own, Lily.

Edward looked at the message: "It’s time to finish this. Michael, tell the DA we’re ready to file. Everything. The fake papers, the bribes, the attempted murder. I want my mother in a cell by midnight."

We got into the car. As Edward drove away from the docks, I leaned my head on Edward’s shoulder, finally letting myself rest.

The silence was finally peaceful.