The Bait

Chapter 58: The Bait

Back in Tina's Hotel

As they stepped into the house, Valerie felt the weight of the moment settled on her shoulders. The truth was close now,...close enough to change everything.

But so was Dr Martin.

And he wasn’t coming to hide.

He was coming to finish what he started.

Then, from somewhere deep inside the house, a burner phone rang.

Tina froze.

“That number,” she whispered. “No one has it. Not even Detective James.”

The room fell still.

The phone rang again.

Ryan’s hand reached instinctively for his belt—no weapon.

Detective James moved toward the sound, heart thudding.

Valerie whispered, “Don’t answer it.”

Too late.

The phone stopped ringing.

Then a message appeared on the cracked screen:

"I see you."

And the power went out.

For a moment, there was only darkness. Heavy. Complete. The kind that made your breath catch and your heart miss its rhythm.

Valerie’s hand flew to the wall, searching blindly for something—anything—to anchor her. Beside her, Ryan cursed under his breath. Detective James tightened his grip on Audrey, whose soft whimper rose into the thick silence. The child stirred, sensing the change, sensing the fear.

“Tina,” James said, voice low. “Flashlight?”

“Top drawer—hallway,” Tina answered quickly, her voice trembling but focused.

Ryan moved first, using the screen of his phone to cast a faint glow. The hall stretched before him like a throat, swallowing light. He found the drawer and yanked it open, hands fumbling past old receipts and stray batteries until his fingers wrapped around a small flashlight. He clicked it on.

A narrow cone of light sliced through the dark.

“Back room,” Tina said, gesturing toward the end of the hallway. “There’s a generator, but if he cut the power line—”

“He’s close,” Detective James interrupted, scanning the room. “This isn’t just surveillance anymore. He’s here.”

Ryan turned sharply. “You think Dr Martin followed us?”

“No,” Valerie said, her voice distant. “He led us.”

She looked at Tina. “He wanted us to find you.”

Tina’s face went pale. “Why?”

“Bait,” Detective James murmured. “He knew we’d come for you. And now—he has us all in one place.”

As if on cue, a loud crack echoed from outside. Then another—closer this time. Glass shattered somewhere in the house, sending shards skittering across the floor. Audrey cried out, a sharp, frightened wail.

Valerie rushed to Detective James and pulled her daughter into her arms, rocking her gently.

“We need to move,” Ryan said, already backing toward the kitchen. “If he’s outside, he’s setting a perimeter. We wait too long, we’re trapped.”

Tina grabbed a duffel bag from under the couch, slinging it over her shoulder. “There’s a cellar door in the pantry—leads to the alley behind the diner. It’s how I used to sneak out.”

“Let’s go,” James said. “Now.”

They moved quickly, every creak of the floorboards like a signal flare. The air felt charged—buzzing with the anticipation of violence. Tina led the way, flashlight in hand, illuminating the cramped pantry. She yanked aside a dusty rug, revealing a hidden trapdoor. Her fingers fumbled with the latch.

Valerie turned, eyes sweeping the room one last time—then froze.

The phone.

It was still on the floor, screen dimmed but glowing faintly. She took a step toward it, drawn by something she couldn’t explain. A second message appeared.

“Bring her to me, or everyone dies.”

Her breath caught.

“Val?” Detective James called softly.

But she couldn’t move. Her heart pounded against her ribs. The pronoun—it wasn’t random.

Her.

He didn’t mean Tina.

He meant Audrey.

“He knows,” Valerie whispered. “About her.”

James was beside her in a heartbeat, reading the message over her shoulder. His jaw clenched.

“He won’t get her,” he said. “I swear.”

Another bang rang out. Closer. The side door rattled violently, hinges straining.

Ryan lifted the trapdoor and motioned. “Now!”

Tina descended first, disappearing into the shadows. Valerie passed Audrey to James and followed, clutching the edge of the opening. The air in the cellar was cold, damp, thick with dust. Ryan came down last and pulled the door shut just as another window exploded above them.

They crept through the narrow underground passage, their footfalls muffled by the earth around them. The tunnel curved and twisted, carved decades ago as an escape route no one remembered until now.

“I can’t believe he found me,” Tina whispered behind James, eyes darting through the dark. “I changed everything. Name. Contacts. I haven’t spoken to anyone in years.”

“He’s always been ten steps ahead,” James said, his voice grim. “But this time, we’re not running. We’re going to burn this whole thing down.”

Valerie’s grip on Audrey tightened as she whispered a quiet promise into her daughter’s ear.

“We’re going to end this. For Jake. For you. For everyone he’s ever hurt.”

As they neared the exit, a faint glow from above revealed a rusted metal grate. Ryan pushed it open carefully, peering through.

“Alley’s clear,” he said. “Let’s go.”

One by one, they climbed out into the cool night. The diner loomed in silence beside them, neon sign long dead, windows streaked with grime. The world outside looked unchanged. Quiet.

Too quiet.

Valerie turned to Detective James. “What now?”

He looked at her, then at Tina, Ryan, and finally down at Audrey.

“Now we stop hiding.”

He pulled a phone from his pocket—a secure line—and dialed.

“Harper. It’s James. Activate Protocol Red. Bring everyone. We're ending this.”

A pause.

Then he added, “Tell them Dr. Martin made it perso

nal.”

The night wind picked up, carrying with it the scent of gasoline and ash.

Smoke and mirrors were falling away.

And the hunt had officially begun.