Trent was dead asleep, deep in that glorious zone where dreams feel like movies and your brain clocks out for the night. Then—BEEP BEEP BEEP! His phone rudely interrupted the silence like an annoying ex sliding into DMs at 3 AM.
Groaning like he'd just been shoved out of a warm blanket, Trent batted his arm around, searching blindly for the damn thing. When he finally found his phone, the screen flashed Unknown Number. Great. He swiped it anyway, dragging the phone to his ear with the enthusiasm of a sloth doing calculus.
"Hello?" His voice was gravelly and barely awake, like he'd just swallowed a cactus.
Then—bam—a voice, silky smooth and way too calm for this hour, whispered, "Hello Trent, I've been meaning to tell you this… I love you."
And just like that, the line went dead.
Trent sat straight up, eyes wide, heart pounding like someone was playing trap music in his chest. "Wait—what?!" he yelled at the empty room, as if the walls might answer back.
His mind raced. Was this a prank? A twisted game? Or maybe… just maybe… was someone actually out here trying to mess with him? And honestly, he kind of loved the adrenaline rush.
Cut to Lily Estate, where Tina was crouched behind a hedge like a total spy, phone pressed against her ear, lips twitching into a grin. "Hello Trent, I love you," she breathed into the phone, voice dripping with fake sweetness and pure mischief. She smirked, knowing Trent couldn't resist calling back—and she was right.
Back in his bedroom, Trent was wide awake now, fingers flying over the screen as he dialed the mystery number back. The voice returned, cool as ice but teasing like a cat with a mouse.
"Meet me at the back gate of Lily Estate. I need to confess my love… and show you something."
Before Trent could even process what to say, click—the call ended, leaving him with nothing but the pounding of his own heartbeat and a million questions.
He stared at his phone like it had just dropped a bomb in his lap. Then muttered, "Lily Estate back gate…" like it was a secret password to the craziest party of his life.
Tossing off his covers, he jumped out of bed, already half-running toward the door. "Alright, whoever you are—you just made this night a whole lot more interesting."
The clock ticked. The night thickened. And Trent was about to step right into the eye of the storm.
★★★★★
The Houndhouse buzzed with restless energy, officers lining the corridors like soldiers on the edge of battle. Gear clinked, radios crackled, and boots shuffled as every muscle in the building tensed, waiting for the order that would crack open the night's chaos.
Draya stood rigid near the heavy oak door of her office, her eyes sharp but her jaw clenched so tight it looked like she could chip a tooth. The weight of responsibility sat heavy on her shoulders — every second stretched out painfully as her team waited, hungry for direction.
Jean-Luc lounged behind her desk with an unsettling ease, fingers drumming lightly on his polished phone. The glow from the screen reflected in his eyes — cold, calculating, untouchable. Without looking up, he murmured, "Just wait a little longer."
Draya's breath caught. His voice was smooth as silk but dripping with that venomous hint that he was playing chess while she was stuck in checkers.
"Jean-Luc…" Her voice was low, a mix of frustration and warning. "They're ready. The officers need the green light. Lives depend on it."
He finally lifted his gaze, that sly smile curling on his lips like a predator savoring the hunt. "Patience, Draya. Sometimes, waiting is the deadliest weapon."
She swallowed hard, knowing he was right — but hating every second of the delay. Outside, the muffled voices of the squad echoed off the concrete walls, the ticking clock hammering in her ears like a countdown.
Jean-Luc's fingers paused on the screen, then resumed typing — a message sent, unseen by anyone but him.
Draya's eyes flicked to the door, then back to him, heart pounding. In that moment, the calm before the storm was anything but peaceful. It was the silence that screamed: something wicked this way comes.
"Okay," she said finally, voice steady but laced with steel, "but when you say wait — I'm watching you."
He chuckled softly, leaning back in his chair, eyes gleaming with dark amusement.
"Good. Because this game is just getting interesting."
★★★★★
Tina paced back and forth like a caged lioness, muttering to herself as if she could will Quinn back to life through sheer force of will.
"Come on, Quinn... not now, girl. You better not pull this ghost act on me. I swear, if you die on me now... I'll—" She stopped mid-rant when she glanced over.
Quinn lay there—pale, still as a statue. Her chest barely rising. Tina's breath hitched, heart hammering like a drum solo in a bad horror movie.
In a flash of desperation, Tina reached out and smacked Quinn's cheek. A sharp, resounding slap that echoed through the room.
"Bitch, you better not die on me!" Tina hissed through tears, half-angry, half-panicked.
For a breathless second, Quinn didn't move. Tina's mind screamed, "Oh no, what did I just do? Was that too hard? Did I just make it worse?!"
Then—slowly—Quinn's eyelids fluttered open, revealing hazy, unfocused eyes.
Tina let out a shaky, relieved laugh, wiping tears that had been more sweat than anything else. "Damn right you better not, or I swear... you're gonna owe me a lifetime supply of coffee."
Her hands trembled as she grabbed a clean napkin nearby and tore off a strip. Wrapping it tightly around Quinn's arm, she tried to stem the bleeding. Blood soaked through, but at least it was slowing.
"No more wasting time," Tina muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Trent might be coming... or might not... but we gotta move."
She hoisted Quinn up over her shoulder, feeling every ounce of weight and frailty. Quinn's head lolled dangerously, but she held on.
Tina's heart pounded, adrenaline rushing as she crept toward the back door. Every creak, every shadow made her jump.
"Alright, Quinn," she whispered fiercely, "we're getting the hell outta this nightmare. Just don't you dare close those pretty eyes again, or so help me…"
With one last look at the chaos burning behind them—gunshots, screams, fire swallowing the night—they slipped out into the dark, uncertain of what awaited but certain they had to survive.
The night was unforgiving, but Tina wasn't about to let Quinn's story end here.
★★★★★
The estate was a graveyard now, silence thick and suffocating except for the faintest, deadliest sound — the slow, relentless ticking of bombs planted like landmines in every corner. Silas lay slumped in the backseat of a nondescript black car, his body bruised and broken, the fierce edge in his eyes dulled to a shadow of what it was. The gang moved like predators, cold and efficient, no mercy in their every step.
C-4 blocks were strapped under staircases, behind walls, in the gardens — and petrol poured generously over it all, a fiery web waiting for a single spark. Scar Face's voice was flat but dripping with satisfaction as he pulled out his phone and dialed.
"It's done. All as instructed."
Jean-Luc's voice crackled back through the line, smooth and chilling. The fate of Lily Estate was sealed.
Engines rumbled to life, cars creeping away from the nightmare they'd woven, tires spinning on wet pavement. But the ticking — oh, the ticking — echoed louder than the roar of their departure.
Tick… tick… tick…
Who would walk into this death trap? Who was still trapped inside this haunted maze of gunfire, blood, and impending fire?
The air hung thick with dread.
And somewhere, miles away, Tina's frantic breaths and Quinn's fading pulse felt worlds away — yet right on the edge of oblivion.
The bombs were ticking. The night was waiting.
And the nightmare was far from over.
Yo, Webnovel fam! 👀 Chapter 20 is coming in HOT and let me just say—Tina and Quinn might just survive… or maybe not. 😱🔥 This chapter is gonna be an absolute BANGER you do not wanna miss! 💥
So drop a vote, add to your collections, interact with the story, and SAVE it so you can binge the chaos again and again. Your support fuels the madness! 💖✨
Who's ready for some wild twists? 🙋♀️🙋♂️ #Chapter20 #PlotTwist #MustRead #VoteVoteVote 📚🔥