THE FOOTSTEPS ON THE CONCRETE STAIRS

The phone felt like a block of ice against my ear.

My breath caught in my throat. I could picture my father in his small, sterile room, entirely dependent on the oxygen concentrator and the feeding tubes. He was helpless.

“I can see his heart rate on the screen, Emily,” Blair taunted, her voice echoing tinny and cruel through the receiver. “He has a strong heart for an old man. It would be a shame if the backup generators accidentally shut down during this storm.”

Tears blurred my vision. I looked at Roman. He was watching me intently, his gun still in his hand. He could tell something was horribly wrong.

Then I looked at Lily. She was clinging to Sara’s leg, her big brown eyes filled with innocent terror.

If I told Roman to put his gun down, Blair’s men would flood the basement and execute him. Then they would kill Sara. And Lily.

One father’s life. For a mother, a father, and an eight-year-old girl.

“Emily,” Roman asked quietly. “Who is on the phone?”

My lips parted, but no sound came out.

“Tell him, Emily,” Blair coaxed. “Be a good girl. Save your daddy.”

I closed my eyes. I remembered what my father told me the day he was moved into the facility. Emmy, a life lived entirely for oneself isn't a life. You protect the innocent. No matter the cost.

I opened my eyes. I stared directly at Roman.

“It’s Blair,” I said, my voice shaking but loud enough for everyone to hear. “She says she controls my father’s life support at Oakhaven. She wants you to drop the gun.”

Roman’s expression hardened into granite.

Sara gasped, covering her mouth.

“Oh, Emily, you stupid, stupid girl,” Blair hissed through the phone. “Say goodbye to him.”

“Wait!” I yelled into the receiver.

But I didn't beg.

Instead, I gripped the phone with both hands, raised it high above my head, and smashed it down onto the concrete floor with every ounce of strength I had left.

The glass shattered into a hundred jagged pieces. The screen sparked and went completely black.

The silence in the garage was deafening.

I fell to my knees, burying my face in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably. I had just killed my father. I had traded his life for a mafia boss’s family.

Suddenly, I felt a heavy, warm weight drop onto my shoulders.

I looked up. Roman had taken off his suit jacket and draped it over me.

He knelt down in front of me, directly in the spilled gasoline, ignoring the ruin of his expensive clothes. He gripped my shoulders firmly.

“Look at me, Emily,” Roman commanded softly.

I met his dark, intense eyes.

“Blair is lying,” Roman said, his voice absolute and unwavering. “Oakhaven is a state-funded facility. It cannot be bought by private holding companies overnight. She’s trying to manipulate you because she knows she’s losing control.”

I blinked, the tears streaming down my face. “Are... are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Roman said. “You just saved my family. Now I am going to save yours.”

He stood up and turned to Leo.

Leo was still standing by the stairs, looking completely lost.

“Leo,” Roman said, tossing the heavy brass override key to his brother. “Take them through the tunnels. Get them to the Northbrook house.”

Leo caught the key, stunned. “You’re trusting me? After everything?”

“I’m trusting that you hate Blair more than you hate me right now,” Roman said grimly. “Go.”

Leo nodded. He rushed over to the service elevator and shoved the heavy key into the slot. The rusty gears groaned, and the heavy metal doors slid open, revealing a dark, damp tunnel.

“Come on!” Leo hissed, ushering Sara and Lily inside.

I scrambled to my feet and ran after them.

Just as I stepped into the elevator, a massive explosion rocked the foundation of the house above us. Dust and debris rained down from the concrete ceiling.

Blair’s men had breached the first-floor security doors. The war had started.

Roman stood alone in the red emergency light, holding his gun, staring up at the concrete ceiling.

“Roman!” Sara screamed from the elevator.

Roman looked back at her. For the first time all night, he smiled.

“Tell Lily I love her,” he said.