Chapter 31 A Mother’s Betrayal

Chapter 31 A Mother’s Betrayal
"Edward! I am at the North—"
His voice was breaking. "Serena? I can't... stay on the... Serena!"
"Edward, it’s Lily! Lily did this!" I screamed into the phone. I looked at the screen. The signal bars were dropping. One bar. Zero. 

Then, I felt it. A cold, heavy hand over my mouth. A strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me backward. I tried to kick. I tried to bite. My phone flew out of my hand, landing in the dark water with a small splash.

"You should have stayed put, little girl," a rough voice whispered in my ear.

Everything turned into a blur. A heavy blow hit the back of my head, and then I saw stars.

The cold woke me up.
It was the same cold as before. The same smell of salt and rot. I opened my eyes and saw the single yellow light bulb hanging from the ceiling. I was back on the dirty mattress. My wrists were tied again, but this time they used heavy rope instead of plastic. It was much tighter.
"No," I whispered. "No, no, no."

I rolled onto my side and started to cry. The tears were hot against my cold skin. I felt a deep ache in my chest. I had been so close. I had touched the sunlight. I had heard Edward’s voice. Now, I was back in the dark, and my phone—my only way to call for help—was at the bottom of the ocean.

Did he hear me? Did he understand that I was at the North Harbor? Or did he just hear silence?

I thought about Lily. She was at the estate right now. She was probably sitting at the head of the table, pretending to be worried. She was a monster hiding in expensive silk. 
I put my forehead against the damp floor. "Please, Edward," I sobbed. "Please find me."

I heard the wind whistling through the cracks in the walls. I heard the water hitting the stones outside. I stayed very still, trying to save my strength. I had to stay alive. I had to find another way.
Suddenly, the silence was broken.

BOOM!

A loud bang echoed through the warehouse. It wasn't the sound of a door closing. It was the sound of something heavy hitting the floor upstairs. My heart started beating fast. I sat up on the mattress, straining my ears.

POP! POP! POP!

Three sharp sounds followed. I knew that sound from movies, but hearing it in real life was different. It was loud and terrifying. Gunshots.
Someone was shooting upstairs.

"Edward?" I whispered, hope and fear fighting inside me.
If it was Edward, he was in danger. Lily’s men were armed. Mark was dangerous. The driver was mean. I heard shouting.

"Find her!" a voice yelled. It sounded like Mark. "Check the back! Now!"
I jumped off the mattress and moved to the corner of the room. I didn't want to be in the middle of the floor if someone came through the door with a gun. I tucked my knees to my chest and waited.
The sounds got louder. I heard a heavy boot on the metal stairs. Clang. Clang. Clang. They were coming down to the basement.

I held my breath. My heart was beating so hard. I watched the iron door. I saw the handle turn.
The door opened. It hit the stone wall with a loud crack.
A man stepped into the room. It wasn't Edward. It was the driver from the van. He looked terrible. There was blood on his shirt. He was holding a pistol in his right hand.

"Get up!" he shouted at me.
I stayed on the floor, shaking my head. "Where is Edward? What did you do?"
"Shut up!" He grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. He pressed the cold metal of the gun against my head. "Your husband brought a small army. But he’s not going to get you. If I’m going down, I’m taking the prize with me."
He started dragging me out of the room. He was using me as a shield. He held me tightly in front of him as we moved into the dark hallway.
"Edward!" I screamed as loud as I could. "Edward, I'm here!"
The man slapped his hand over my mouth, nearly choking me. "One more sound and I pull the trigger," he said.

We reached the bottom of the stairs. The warehouse was filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder. I could see shadows moving near the entrance.

"Edward!" the man holding me shouted. His voice echoed. "I have her! I have your wife! Drop the gun or she dies right now!"
The movements in the shadows stopped. Everything became very, very quiet.

Then, a voice came out of the dark. It was Edward.
"Let her go," Edward said.
I saw him as he stepped out from the shadows. His clothes were torn. There was a cut on his forehead, and blood was trickling down his face. He was holding a gun, pointed directly at the man holding me.

"Drop it, Edward!" the driver screamed. He pressed the gun harder into my head. I could feel the hammer of the gun click. "I mean it! I'll kill her!"

"If you hurt her," Edward said, his voice dropping to a whisper that was scarier than any shout, "you won't live long enough to hear the sound of the shot. I don't care about the police. I don't care about the law. I will pull you apart with my bare hands."
The driver was sweating. I could feel his heart racing against my back. He was terrified.

"Serena, look at me," Edward said. His eyes locked onto mine. "Don't look at him. Just look at me. Everything is going to be okay."

"Enough!" the driver yelled. "Back up! Everyone back up or she’s dead!"

"That’s enough, boys," a voice said.
Lily was standing on the other side of the hallway. She was  back from the meeting. She was holding a small, silver handgun. She looked down at all of us like we were actors in a play she had written.

"Mother, stop this!" Edward shouted, his eyes bloodshot.

"I tried to do this the clean way, Edward," Lily said. "I really did. But you just couldn't let it go. You always had to be the hero."

She pointed her gun down at the driver.
"He’s a witness, Edward," Lily said. "And so is she."
Lily’s finger moved on the trigger.
"NO!" Edward screamed.
Time seemed to slow down. Edward ran forward. 
BANG!