CHAPTER 0119
JULIAN’S POV
I continued to follow her into a narrow hallway that led to the back of the church. The air was thick with dust and the scent of candles. Her footsteps echoed ahead of me, quick and panicked. She glanced over her shoulder just once, eyes wide and filled with something between fear and fury. Then, without hesitation, she shoved open a creaky wooden door and disappeared behind it.
The basement.
I didn’t slow down. I chased her down the cold stone steps, each step echoing like a countdown. My heart pounded in my chest–not just from the adrenaline, but from the intensity of the moment. This might be the last chance we have to bring her in.
The basement was colder, darker. A maze of dimly lit hallways, flickering bulbs overhead, and storage rooms with half–open doors. The smell of mold clung to the damp walls. I slowed my pace slightly, my breath steadying as I moved deeper in, my ears straining for any sign of movement.
Then I heard it. A faint sob. It echoed down the hall like a ghost.
I followed the sound carefully, turning a corner and stepping lightly, my instincts sharp. That’s when I saw her–standing in the candle storage room, her back to me,
shoulders shaking slightly. The glow of a single candle gave her silhouette a strange softness.
“Don’t move,” I said, breathing heavily, my voice calm but firm.
She spun around instantly. And what I saw next shocked me.
In her hand was a gun. Small. Black. Deadly. So that was what the priest had handed her earlier during their quiet exchange. I cursed under my breath. I should’ve known.
“Stay the fuck away from me!” she snapped, pointing the gun directly at my chest, her arms extended but trembling.
I raised my hands slowly in surrender, trying not to provoke her. “Emma… you don’t
have to do this. Just calm down and let’s talk.”
Her eyes glistened with a mixture of fear, guilt, and raw desperation. Her grip on the gun was unstable. Her fingers twitched, but I could tell–this was new to her. She wasn‘ t trained. She had probably never fired a gun in her life.
“You would rather kill a human being than just make a small confession?” I asked her, inching slightly closer without making it obvious.
She laughed bitterly. “Do you have any idea how much he paid me to do what I did? Because of him, I was finally able to quit my miserable reporter life. I started a
CHAPTER 0119
business. I bought peace for the first time in years. And news flash–I’ve spent every single cent he gave me.”
Her voice cracked then, and her hands shook more violently. “You want me to come clean? That I set up that woman under his orders? What do you think a billionaire like him would do when he finds out I duped him? Because that’s basically what you’re asking me to do.”
I kept my eyes on her finger, watching it twitch dangerously near the trigger. One wrong move and this could end badly.
“I’m not your enemy, Emma,” I said softly. “You made a mistake. But you don’t have to make another.”
For a second, I thought she might lower the gun. But then, her eyes hardened.
I saw her hand twitch, the slight squeeze of her index finger.
She was going to pull the trigger.
I moved.
U120 I have a lot for you in my life. In a single breathless second, I lunged forward just as the gunshot rang out. The bullet missed, slamming into the wall behind me with a sharp crack. I knocked the weapon from her grip, and it skidded across the floor, clattering to a stop near the door.
She stumbled back, eyes wide in terror, mouth open to scream–but I was faster. I slammed her against the cold stone wall, my hand covering her mouth before the sound could leave her throat.
Her breaths were rapid, shallow, her body tense beneath my hold.
“Not every billionaire out there is who you think they are,” I said, my voice cold and firm as I held her arms behind her. “Earlier, I thought you were going to do the right thing and follow us, but I was wrong. You chose the coward’s route–hiding behind hired goons and even teaming up with a fake priest who scams people for money.”
Tears started to form in her eyes. She looked away as if that would soften me, but I wasn’t falling for it.
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“Please,” she whimpered, her voice cracking. “I didn’t want this. Adrian threatened me…
“Oh, so now he threatened you?” I cut her off, shaking my head. “I thought you said he helped you, that he gave you enough money to start your own business and change your life. Suddenly, he’s the villain? Pick a side, Emma. Because your story keeps changing, and I’m done playing detective.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but I tightened my grip on her wrists, twisting her slightly to her back and locking her hands tightly in mine. There was no room for
CHAPTER 0119
sympathy. Not anymore.
“You’re not getting away,” I continued as we began to walk back up the steps. “So I suggest you cut it with the lies and the crying, and start cooperating before things get even worse for you.”
As we climbed the stairs back to the main church, she scoffed bitterly. “You think you‘ re going to just walk out of here with me? You’re delusional. Your friends were outnumbered. They’re probably dead by now. And when we get up there, my men are going to teach you a lesson you won’t forget.”
I didn’t even respond. There was no point. She’d find out the truth in just a moment.
The light from the main hall seeped through the doorway ahead. As we stepped back into the sanctuary, the scene that greeted us was something she clearly hadn’t anticipated.
Ron was casually standing by the candle altar, using one of the lit candles to light a cigarette, as if this was just another day in the office. His shirt was a bit ripped, and there was blood on his knuckles, but otherwise, he looked relaxed.
Emma’s eyes scanned the church in shock. Her men–every single one of them–were unconscious on the ground, groaning or completely knocked out. Some were slumped over the pews. One of Ron’s guys sat on a bench, wrapping a piece of a torn shirt around his bleeding arm. The rest were upright, breathing heavily but very much alive.
Her jaw tightened. The hope in her eyes flickered once, then died completely. She lowered her head, accepting what she already knew deep down–this was over.
“You guys alright?” I asked as I stepped forward, keeping one hand tightly on Emma’s arm while the other scanned the room.
“We’re all good,” Ron said, flicking ash off his cigarette as he walked toward me. “Since you’ve got her, we should leave. That gunshot downstairs might bring around cops. No point sticking around.”
He reached out and grabbed Emma’s other arm firmly, taking some of her weight as she reluctantly moved between us like a prisoner.
For a moment, none of us said anything. The silence in the church was heavy. Candles still flickered. The scent of wax, blood, and sweat hung in the air.
We had her now. After all the chasing.
R
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