Adriana's POV
Flashbang grenades exploded through the doorway. White light seared my eyes. Sound punched through my skull like a hammer.
I couldn't see. Couldn't hear. Couldn't think.
Hands grabbed me—Dominic's, I thought—and pulled me sideways. We hit the floor as gunfire erupted. Bullets tore through the darkness, sparking off metal, punching through walls.
"Basement!" Dominic shouted, though his voice sounded like it was underwater. "There's a tunnel!"
He dragged me across the floor. I felt Marcus grab my other arm. Together we crawled through chaos while Elena's people poured into the safe house.
My vision slowly returned, blurry and spotted. I could make out shapes now. Dominic pulling open a floor panel I hadn't noticed. A ladder leading down into darkness.
"Go!" he shoved me toward it.
I didn't argue. Just grabbed the ladder and climbed down fast. Marcus came after me, then Dominic. Above us, heavy boots stomped across the floor.
"Where are they?" Elena's voice was sharp with anger. "Find them!"
Dominic pulled the panel closed above us and clicked on a small flashlight. We were in a concrete tunnel, narrow and damp, stretching into darkness.
"Move," he whispered. "Quietly."
We ran through the tunnel, trying not to make noise. My lungs burned. My arm throbbed where the bullet had grazed it earlier. Behind us, I heard the floor panel slam open and shouts echoing down.
The tunnel ended at a metal ladder. Dominic climbed first, pushed open a grate, and pulled himself up. Marcus went next. I was about to grab the ladder when gunfire rang out behind me.
A bullet slammed into the wall by my head.
I scrambled up the ladder so fast I almost fell. Hands grabbed me—Dominic and Marcus hauling me up into an alley. Rain poured down, soaking us instantly.
"Car's two blocks that way," Dominic gasped, pointing. "Run!"
We ran.
My legs felt like rubber but I pushed harder. Behind us, Elena's people climbed out of the tunnel. More gunshots. A bullet hit a dumpster next to me and I yelped.
"There!" Marcus pointed to a dark blue sedan parked on the corner.
We reached it and Dominic yanked open the doors. "Get in!"
I dove into the backseat with Marcus. Dominic jumped in front, and the engine roared to life. We peeled out just as two black SUVs turned onto the street behind us.
"They're following!" Marcus shouted.
"I know!" Dominic flew through a red light, swerving around a taxi. "Hold on!"
The SUVs stayed right behind us. We raced through Queens, taking corners so fast the car tilted on two wheels. Rain made the streets slick and dangerous.
"Your mother," I said breathlessly. "Elena said your mother—"
"Not now!" Dominic's voice was broken. "Please, Adriana. Not now."
I'd never heard him sound like that. Like his whole world had just shattered.
He took a hard left into a parking garage, drove up three levels, then killed the engine and lights. We sat in darkness, breathing hard, listening.
The SUVs roared past on the street below.
For a long moment, nobody spoke. Just the sound of rain on the garage roof and our ragged breathing.
"We can't stay here," Marcus finally said.
"I know." Dominic rested his forehead against the steering wheel. "I know."
"Your mother's one of them," I said quietly. "How long?"
"I don't know. I don't—" His voice cracked. "She's my mother. How could she—"
"Money," Marcus said flatly. "Power. Same reason anyone betrays people."
Dominic's hands gripped the wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. "She helped raise me. Taught me about justice. About doing what's right. And the whole time she was..."
"Working with the people destroying lives," I finished. "Yeah. I know how that feels."
Our eyes met in the rearview mirror. Something passed between us—an understanding born from both being betrayed by people we loved.
"Where do we go now?" I asked. "The safe house is compromised. Elena knows we have evidence. And apparently half your family is trying to kill us."
"Not half," Dominic said bitterly. "Just my mother. My father's dead, remember? Heart attack three years ago. Or at least that's what I was told. Now I'm wondering if Elena had him killed too."
The thought made my stomach turn.
Marcus pulled out his phone. "We need somewhere to hide. Somewhere they won't think to look."
"I might know a place," I said slowly. "My dad's old partner—Detective Mike Rodriguez. He retired five years ago, moved upstate. If anyone would help us, it's him."
"Can you trust him?" Dominic asked.
"More than I can trust anyone else right now."
I called Mike. It rang four times before a gruff voice answered.
"Ana? Do you know what time it is?"
"Mike, I need help. Big help. The kind where you don't ask questions and just say yes."
Silence. Then: "What kind of trouble are you in, kid?"
"The kind that involves corrupt judges, conspiracy, and people trying to kill me."
More silence. I heard him sigh. "Your dad would kill me if I let anything happen to his little girl. Get up here. I'll leave the porch light on."
Relief flooded through me. "Thank you."
I gave Dominic the address. He started the car and we pulled out of the garage carefully, watching for the SUVs.
The drive upstate took two hours. Two hours of jumping at every car that came near us. Two hours of Dominic not saying a word while I watched him fall apart in silence.
Two hours of me trying not to think about the fact that his mother—the woman who'd never liked me, who'd always thought I wasn't good enough for her son—had been part of destroying my life all along.
We pulled up to Mike's cabin just after 3 AM. It sat alone in the woods, warm light glowing from the windows.
The porch light was on, just like he'd promised.
We got out of the car, exhausted and soaked. I was about to knock when the door opened.
But it wasn't Mike standing there.
It was Detective Sarah Chen from the police station. The one who'd questioned me for hours about Hammond's murder.
She held a gun pointed right at my chest.
"Hello, Ms. Vale," she said with a cold smile. "Judge Vasquez has been looking everywhere for you."
Behind her, I heard a groan. Mike was tied to a chair, blood running down his face.
Chen's finger moved toward the trigger.
And I realized we'd just walked straight into another trap.