Chapter 188: The Last-Minute Rescue
Evelyn took a deep breath, forcing her mind to stay sharp. She encrypted the evidence files with the highest level of security and set a timer. The recipient was Albert’s private email, and the send time was set for two hours from now.
If she didn't cancel the transmission by then, the proof that would bury Marcus forever would be sent automatically.
"I’m taking the original to trade," Evelyn whispered to the empty room. "If I don't come back, please give this to Victor Lawrence. Give my mother her justice."
She hit the enter key. She didn't have time to hesitate. She pulled a spare handgun from the drawer. Ryan had taught her how to use it, and though she wasn't an expert, she knew how to pull the trigger.
Abandoned Shipyard, Warehouse C.
Evelyn pushed open the heavy iron door. The sound of her heels on the concrete floor echoed through the vast, empty space. In the center of the warehouse, Marcus sat on a tattered leather sofa. Behind him, a dozen armed mercenaries stood in a line, their rifles aimed directly at the door.
Across from him, Ryan was kneeling on the ground, his hands tied behind his back. The wound on his forehead was still bleeding, the red smear obscuring half of his face. Elias was still hanging from the rope, his mouth taped shut. When he saw Evelyn, his small body began to thrash, making muffled sobbing sounds.
"Elias!" The sight of her son felt like a knife in Evelyn’s heart. She started to run toward him.
"Stop right there." Marcus raised his gun, pointing it at Ryan’s head. "One more step and I blow his brains out."
Evelyn froze. She stared at Marcus with pure loathing. "I brought what you wanted. Let them go." She held up the diary.
Greed sparked in Marcus’s eyes. "Throw it here. Slowly."
Evelyn didn't move. "Release them first. Let them walk to the door, then I’ll give it to you."
"Do you think you’re in a position to negotiate?" Marcus sneered. He lowered his aim and fired a shot into Ryan’s thigh.
Bang!
Ryan let out a muffled groan, his body jerking with the impact. He ground his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, refusing to scream.
"Ryan!" Evelyn screamed, tears bursting from her eyes. "Don't hurt him! I’ll give it to you! Just stop!"
She couldn't gamble anymore. With trembling hands, she tossed the diary to Marcus’s feet. He used his cane to flip the book open, glancing at the revealed writing. A twisted, triumphant smile spread across his face.
"Perfect. Madeline’s little secrets finally belong to me." Marcus then pulled a lighter from his pocket and flicked it. He touched the flame to the corner of the book. The fire greedily ate through the old paper.
"Now, let them go!" Evelyn’s heart bled as she watched the last connection to her mother burn, but she cared more about the living.
"Let them go?" Marcus tossed the burning book onto the floor and stepped on it. He laughed like a madman. "Evelyn, you are so incredibly naive."
He waved a hand to his men. "Kill them. All of them."
The mercenaries clicked their safeties off.
"Marcus, you faithless bastard!" Ryan roared. He lunged from the ground, slamming his head into the nearest guard’s chest.
At that exact moment—
BOOM!
A side wall of the warehouse exploded inward. Stone and dust showered the room. Intense gunfire erupted immediately, dropping several of Marcus’s men before they could even turn their heads.
"Everyone on the ground if you want to live!"
A familiar, raspy voice tore through the smoke.
Damian Green, still dressed in a blood-stained hospital gown, charged through the hole holding a submachine gun. He was followed by a dozen heavily armed men. He didn't look like a dying man anymore. Though he was pale and his movements were stiff, his eyes were filled with a frantic desperation.
"Damian?" Evelyn stared in shock.
"Don't just stand there! Save the kid!" Damian yelled at her, firing a burst of lead to keep the mercenaries pinned down.
He hadn't been comatose at all. The fake diary had been the lure, and the ICU stay had been a performance to make Marcus lower his guard. The moment Marcus moved, Damian had ripped out his IVs, taken out the men watching him, and mobilized the private security force he’d spent years building in the shadows.
The warehouse turned into a war zone. Bullets ricocheted off metal crates, sending sparks flying through the air.
"Dammit! Kill them all!" Marcus panicked, retreating while his men returned fire.
Ryan rolled behind a crate, using his knees to snap the neck of a mercenary trying to sneak up on him. He grabbed the man’s knife and sliced through his own bindings.
"Evelyn! Get Elias down!" Ryan picked up a fallen rifle and began picking off targets with lethal accuracy, clearing a path for her.
Evelyn stayed low, sprinting through the crossfire to the control panel. She found the lever for the lift and pulled it down with all her strength. The rope lowered, and Elias finally hit the ground.
"Mommy!" The boy collapsed into her arms, sobbing and shaking.
"It’s okay, it’s okay." Evelyn sliced the tape and ropes away, shielding him with her body.
Suddenly, one of Marcus’s loyalists stepped out from the shadows, aiming his pistol at Evelyn’s back.
"Watch out!"
A scream echoed through the warehouse. Damian appeared from nowhere, throwing himself in front of Evelyn.
Thwack.
The sound of the bullet hitting flesh was sickeningly clear. Damian’s body jolted. Blood bloomed across the back of his hospital gown, but he didn't fall. He spun around and put a bullet through the attacker’s head.
"Damian!" Evelyn turned and caught him as he slumped to his knees. Her hands were instantly covered in his warm, thick blood.
"Go..." Damian’s face was ashen. His lips trembled, but he forced a weak smile. "Take the boy and go... I owe you this much..."
Evelyn looked at the horrific hole in his shoulder, her mind a blur of conflicting emotions.
"Shut up! Can you walk?"
Ryan ran over, grabbing Damian by the arm. Even though his movements were rough, he draped Damian’s arm over his own uninjured shoulder. "If you aren't dead, get up! Don't expect my woman to carry you!"
The three adults, battered and bleeding, began to retreat toward the exit, shielding the child as they fought their way out.