Chapter 25 Chapter 25
Hailey’s POV
“Someone just tried to kill us with a car,” I said, my voice shaking. “And then they left us a letter. We need to know what it says.”
“You need a doctor,” Benita insisted, pulling out her phone. “I’m calling Marco.”
She dialed quickly, and I could hear the faint sound of Marco’s voice on the other end.
“Marco, we need help,” Benita said urgently. “Someone just tried to run us over with a car, and Hailey broke her arm. We need to get to the hospital but we’re scared to go back outside.”
There was a pause as Marco responded.
“What?” Benita’s face fell. “But we need you now.”
Another pause, longer this time. I could see the frustration and fear warring on her face.
“Okay,” she said finally, her voice tight. “Okay, thank you. Please hurry.”
She lowered the phone slightly, “said he will send his friend to pick us.” She said and about to hang up, when I grabbed her arm with my good hand.
“Wait,” I said. “Ask him how we’re supposed to recognize his friend. We can’t just go with anyone. What if whoever tried to kill us is still out there?”
Benita’s eyes widened, realizing I was right. She put the phone back to her ear. “Marco? How we’ll recognize your friend. We can’t just trust anyone right now.”
I could hear Marco’s voice, calmer now, reassuring.
“Okay,” Benita said. “He’ll call us when he arrives. Thank you.”
She hung up and looked at me, her expression torn between worry and fear. “His boss summoned him for something urgent, but he’s sending a friend to take us to the hospital. He’ll call when they get here.”
“His boss must be important if he can’t even help his girlfriend in an emergency,” I muttered, though part of me understood. Marco worked security for someone wealthy and powerful. Those kinds of people didn’t take kindly to their employees abandoning their posts.
My eyes drifted back to the envelope on the floor, and despite the pain radiating through my arm, curiosity and dread pulled at me with equal force.
“I need to see what it says,” I said quietly.
“Hailey….”
“Please,” I interrupted, looking at her. “Someone broke into our home. Someone tried to kill us. And now they’ve left us a message. We need to know who we’re dealing with.”
Benita hesitated, then sighed heavily. “Fine. But let me open it.”
“No,” I said, already bending down carefully, trying not to jostle my injured arm. “If it’s dangerous, I don’t want you getting hurt too.”
I picked up the envelope with my right hand, noting how heavy it felt.
The seal was elaborate, pressed into dark red wax that looked almost black in the dim light. As I ran my finger along the edge to break it open, I felt a sharp, sudden pain.
“Ow!” I yanked my hand back, and blood immediately welled up from a clean slice across my fingertip.
“What happened?” Benita gasped, grabbing my hand.
“There are razor blades embedded in the seal,” I said, staring at the cut in disbelief and horror. “They booby-trapped the letter.”
“Oh my God,” Benita breathed. “Hailey, put it down. This is insane.”
But I couldn’t stop now. Blood dripped from my finger onto the pristine white envelope, creating dark red spots that spread and bloomed like flowers.
With shaking hands, I tore open the rest of the envelope, careful to avoid the razor-sharp edges.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
I pulled it out, my blood smearing slightly across the corner, and read the words that made my blood run colder than ice.
“The Morellis send their regards. sealed with blood”
The paper slipped from my trembling fingers and floated to the ground.
Benita grabbed it, reading it quickly, and I watched as all the color drained from her face.
“No,” she whispered. “No, no, no.”
“What?” I asked, though dread was already pooling in my stomach. “Who are the Morellis?”
Benita looked at me with eyes wide with terror. “I’ve heard of them. Everyone’s heard of them.” Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “They’re only the biggest rival to the Kingpin.”
The world seemed to tilt sideways.
The Kingpin. Damien.
“Why would they…” I started, but the answer hit me like a freight train.
Because of Damien. Because someone had seen us together. Because I’d been stupid enough to let myself get pulled into his world.
“We’re dead,” Benita said, her voice hollow. “Hailey, we’re actually going to die.”
“Stop,” I said, my own panic rising to match hers. “Just stop. We need to think.”
“Think about what?” Benita’s voice was rising, hysteria creeping in. “They know where we live. They broke in. They tried to run us over. And now they’re making it clear they can get to us whenever they want.”
She slumped down beside me, her back against the wall, and I could see tears forming in her eyes.
“We need to tell Damien,” she said desperately. “He needs to know about this. He’s the only one who can protect us from them.”
“No,” I said immediately. “Absolutely not.”
“Hailey, we’ll be dead by the end of the week if we don’t!” Benita grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. “I know you want to stay away from him, I know he scares you, but right now he’s the only chance we have.”
I stared at her, my mind racing. She was right, and I hated that she was right.
The Morellis had targeted us because of Damien. Which meant only Damien had the power to stop them.
But getting Damien involved meant diving deeper into his world, into the violence and danger and darkness that I’d been desperately trying to escape.
“We have two options,” Benita said, her voice steadier now, like she was trying to convince herself as much as me. “We call Damien right now and tell him what happened. Or we wait until we get to the hospital and call him from there.”