Chapter 5 CAPTURED

BRENDA

My heart pounded against my ribs so hard I thought it might break through my chest. The gun shook in my sweaty hold as the door swung open slowly.

"Don't move!" I shouted, my voice cracking with fear. "I'll shoot!"

The figure in the doorway froze instantly. In the eerie red emergency lighting, I could barely make out their features.

"Brenda?" A familiar voice. "Put the gun down. It's me."

Dr. Winters stepped into the light, hands raised. Relief flooded through me, but Ethan's warning text flashed in my mind: DON'T TRUST ANYONE.

"Stay where you are," I ordered, keeping the gun raised. "What did you tell Ethan about Sarah's condition earlier tonight?"

His eyebrows rose. "That she's stable but critical. The next 48 hours are crucial for kidney function." He glanced at the gun. "Now please put that down before someone gets hurt, please."

I lowered the weapon slightly. "What happened to the security guard?"

"Someone attacked him. Security is locking down the floor now." He moved toward Sarah's bed. "I need to check her vitals, maybe her breathing is still stable."

Before I could decide whether to trust him, the door burst open again. Two masked figures dressed in black rushed in. The first tackled Dr. Winters to the ground while the second lunged for me.

I squeezed the trigger without thinking. The gun's sound was deafening in the small room. The attacker staggered back, holding their shoulder, but didn't fall.

"Get away from my sister!" I screamed, firing again. This time I missed, the bullet shattering the window behind them.

Sarah was screaming now, the machines around her blaring alerts. The first attacker had Dr. Winters pinned to the floor, pressing something to his neck. The doctor went limp.

"The girl isn't our target," the wounded one grunted. "Grab Mitchell and let's go."

Everything happened in terrifying slow motion. The uninjured attacker vaulted over Sarah's bed toward me. I fired again, but the gun clicked empty. Useless they is no furking bullet inside again....

I threw the weapon at his head and ran for the bathroom. If I could lock myself in, buy some time...

Strong hands grabbed my hair, yanking me backward. Pain exploded across my scalp as I was dragged to the floor. I kicked and scratched, connecting with his Dick. My attacker grunted in pain.

"Bitch!" he spat, grabbing my spinning arms. "Stop fighting!"

"Security's coming," I gasped. "You'll never get out of here!"

"Security's already taken care of." He pressed a sweet-smelling cloth over my nose and mouth. Chloroform. I held my breath, still struggling to breath very well.

A thunderous crash interrupted everything as the door exploded inward. Ethan stood in the doorway, eyes wild, a gun in his hand. Behind him were three men in tactical gear.

"Get down!" he roared.

I hit my elbow into my attacker's stomach and rolled away. Gunshots rained, deafening in the small space. The attacker who'd been holding me jerked backward as bullets tore through his chest.

The wounded one by Sarah's bed raised a gun toward Ethan. I screamed a warning, but Ethan was faster. Three shots, center mass. The attacker crumpled to the floor, DEAD....

"Brenda!" Ethan was beside me in an instant, pulling me against his chest. His heart hammered beneath my ear, his breath coming in short bursts. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. Sarah was sobbing in her bed, the machines still screaming alerts.

"Get a medical team in here now!" Ethan ordered one of his men. "And find out how they got past our security!"

The smell of gunpowder and blood filled the air. Dr. Winters lay motionless on the floor. One of Ethan's men checked his pulse.

"Alive," he reported. "Drugged, I think."

Ethan cupped my face, eyes looking for any injuries. "They came for you," he said grimly. "Just like I feared."

"Why?" I whispered. "I'm nobody."

"You're a Blackwood now." His voice was hard. "Or you will be soon. That makes you a target."

Medical staff flooded the room, attending to Sarah and Dr. Winters. Police sirens wailed in the distance.

"We need to go," Ethan said, helping me to my feet. "It's not safe here."

"I can't leave Sarah!" I protested.

"She's coming too." He nodded to his men. "Prepare for transport. The private clinic."

Everything after that happened in the twinkle of an eye. Sarah was carefully transferred to a portable life support system. Police officers came and went, taking statements. Ethan handled everything with cold efficiency, never leaving my side, his hand firm against the small of my back.

Within an hour, we were in a helicopter, flying over the city lights. Sarah lay unconscious on a stretcher, monitored by a medical team. I stared at the blood on my hands, not mine, but the attacker's.

"I shot someone," I whispered, the reality finally hitting me.

Ethan's hand covered mine. "You protected yourself and your sister. You did what you had to do."

I turned to face him. "Who were they? What did they want?"

"Information," he said grimly. "About me. About Blackwood Enterprises."

"I don't know anything about your business!"

"They don't know that." His eyes were dark with something I couldn't read. "To them, you're my weakness now."

The helicopter landed on the roof of a nondescript building outside the city. Sarah was rushed inside by the medical team. I moved to follow, but Ethan caught my arm.

"Wait," he said, pulling me close. Before I could react, his lips crashed against mine. The kiss was hard, desperate, nothing like the gentle first kiss I'd imagined with anyone. His hands gripped my waist, holding me so tightly it almost hurt.

When he pulled back, his eyes were wild. "I thought I'd lost you," he said, voice rough. "When I heard the gunshots..."

"You were worried about your investment," I said, still surprised from the kiss.

Anger flashed across his face. "Is that what you think? That this is just business to me?"

"Isn't it?"

Before he could answer, one of his security team approached. "Sir, we've identified one of the attackers."

Ethan's expression shifted instantly back to cool control. "Who?"

"Former military, recently employed by Chen Security Services."

Ice ran through my veins. "Chen? As in Victoria Chen?"

Ethan's jaw tightened. "It could be a coincidence."

"You don't believe that," I said.

"No." His eyes met mine. "I don't."

Inside the private clinic, Sarah was settled into a state-of-the-art room with round-the-clock nurses. I washed the blood from my hands in the adjoining bathroom, watching it swirl down the drain, pink then clear, my lovely sister is really in a critical condition.

Ethan waited in the room when I emerged, staring out the window at the sunrise shining over the horizon.

"You should rest," he said without turning around.

"How can I rest?" I asked. "People just tried to kidnap me. Someone tried to kill my sister."

He turned then, his expression unreadable. "No one was trying to kill Sarah. They were using her to control you."

"Why? What could I possibly know that's worth all this?"

Ethan approached slowly, like I was a wild animal who might bolt. "It's not what you know, Brenda. It's what you have access to."

"I don't understand."

"The Blackwood vault," he said. "In our family estate. Only blood relatives and spouses can access it. Family tradition, written into the company bylaws."

"What's in the vault?"

"Documents. Evidence. Things that could destroy not just me, but several powerful families in this city." His eyes bore into mine. "Including the Chens."

"And they think I have access because I'm your fiancée?"

He nodded. "The moment our engagement hit the news, you became the easiest way to get to those secrets."

"This is insane," I whispered. "I never asked for any of this."

"No," he agreed. "But here we are."

My phone buzzed with a text. Unknown number. I opened it and froze.

A photo of me and Sarah, taken yesterday outside our old apartment. Before all this started. Before I met Ethan.

Another text followed: I know your secret, Brenda Mitchell. The real reason your parents died. Tell Blackwood about the vault, or everyone will know what you did.

The phone slipped from my numb fingers. Ethan caught it, reading the message, his face darkening with something I can't really phantom.

"What secret?" he demanded. "What is this about your parents?"

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. How could anyone know? I'd never told anyone, not even Sarah...

"Brenda," Ethan gripped my shoulders. "What secret? What do they have on you?"

"I..." The words stuck in my throat.

The lights suddenly went out, plunging us into darkness. Emergency generators kicked in moments later, but the damage was already done. The clinic's security system had been compromised.

Alarms blared. Ethan's phone rang.

"Status!" he barked into it. His face went changed at whatever he heard. "Lock it down now! No one in or out!"

He grabbed my arm. "We need to move. They've breached the perimeter."

"Sarah...."

"Security team is moving her to the panic room." He pulled a gun from his jacket. "Stay close to me."

We hurried down the hallway toward the stairs. Gunshots echoed from somewhere below.

"Who are these people?" I gasped as we ran.

"Not just Chen's people," Ethan said grimly. "This is bigger. Someone's coordinating attacks."

We reached the stairwell. Ethan pushed me behind him as he checked for threats. Clear.

"Down three flights," he directed. "There's a tunnel."

We descended rapidly, the sounds of fighting growing louder. At the third landing, Ethan tried the door. Locked.

"Stand back," he ordered, firing at the electronic lock. The door swung open.

The corridor beyond was dark except for flashing red emergency lights. We moved quickly, Ethan leading the way, gun ready.

"Almost there," he whispered. "The tunnel entrance is behind the-"

A figure stepped out from a doorway ahead. Ethan raised his gun, then hesitated.

"Mom?"

Clarissa Blackwood stood in the hallway, perfectly composed despite the chaos. Her silver hair glowing in the emergency lighting.

"Ethan," she said calmly. "I've been looking for you."

"What are you doing here?" Ethan demanded. "How did you know where we were?"

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "A mother always knows where to find her child."

Something was wrong. I could feel it in the air between them, a tension I didn't understand.

"We need to go," Ethan said. "The tunnel.."

"Ah yes, the tunnel." Clarissa's smile widened. "I'm afraid that won't be necessary anymore."

She raised her hand. In it was a small remote device. She pressed a button.

Explosions rocked the building, the floor shaking beneath our feet. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling like rain.

"Mother, what have you done?" Ethan's voice was barely audible over the rumbling.

Clarissa's eyes found mine, cold and triumphant. "Getting rid of the problem," she said. "Both problems."

More figures appeared behind her, men with guns. Not wearing masks this time. They didn't need to hide anymore.

"I'm sorry, son," Clarissa said, not sounding sorry at all. "But she knows too much. And you've become a liability."

The men raised their weapons. Ethan pushed me behind him, shielding me with his body.

"Run," he whispered urgently. "Now!"

I turned to run, but strong arms grabbed me from behind. A cloth covered my mouth and nose. This time, I couldn't hold my breath.

As darkness claimed me, the last thing I saw was Ethan, fighting desperately as his own mother watched with cold eyes.

And then nothing......