Chapter 5 Run

For one terrifying second, nobody moved.

The underground parking garage fell completely silent except for the low hum of the running engine behind Vanessa.

My eyes stayed locked on the gun in her hand.

I’d never seen a real gun before.

Not outside movies, not pointed in my direction.

Every instinct inside me screamed to run.

But my body refused to move.

Vanessa’s expression remained calm, though tension sharpened her features.

“You have thirty seconds,” she said quietly.

Alex stepped slightly in front of me again protective and dangerously.

“Who sent them?” he asked.

Them?

Vanessa’s jaw tightened.

“They breached the west entrance ten minutes ago.”

My pulse skyrocketed.

Breached?

This sounded less like office drama and more like the beginning of a crime documentary.

“Alex,” Vanessa continued sharply, “this is not the time for control issues.”

His eyes darkened instantly.

“I’m not leaving her.”

Her? Not Blair Her.

Like I was suddenly something important. Something people were fighting over. Fear crawled deeper into my chest.

Vanessa looked at me briefly. And for the first time since meeting her…I saw genuine concern in her eyes.

“They know she’s here now,” she said softly.

I swallowed hard.

“Can somebody please explain what’s happening?”

No one answered.

Somewhere deeper inside the garage, a loud metallic crash echoed through the darkness.

I flinched violently.

Vanessa immediately raised the gun toward the sound.

“Too late.”

Alex grabbed my wrist instantly.

“Move.”

Everything happened fast after that.

He pulled me toward a black SUV parked near the private elevator while Vanessa walked behind us, gun raised, eyes scanning every shadow.

My heartbeat pounded so hard it hurt.

“What do you mean they know I’m here?” I whispered desperately.

Alex unlocked the SUV remotely.

“Get inside.”

“No!”

Both of them looked at me.

Good. Because I was officially done being confused.

“No one tells me anything! You stalk me for years, people are threatening me, there are hidden photos, creepy messages, and now guns? I’m not moving until someone explains what the hell is happening!”

The silence that followed felt dangerous.

Vanessa looked away first.

But Alex… 

Alex stared at me like he was calculating something.

Then suddenly—

BANG.

A gunshot exploded through the garage.

I screamed instinctively as glass shattered nearby.

Alex shoved me down instantly, shielding my body with his own as another gunshot rang out.

The sound echoed violently through the concrete structure.

“Oh my God—”

“Inside the car!” Vanessa shouted.

More footsteps.

Fast.

Closing in.

Alex practically lifted me from the ground and shoved me into the SUV before sliding in beside me.

Vanessa jumped into the driver’s seat.

The engine roared instantly.

Another bullet slammed into the back window as she accelerated violently through the garage exit.

I grabbed the seat in panic as the car sped onto the rainy streets.

“What is happening?!” My voice broke completely now.

Rain hammered against the windshield.

Vanessa drove dangerously fast, weaving through traffic while checking her mirrors constantly.

“They found her too early,” she muttered.

Alex’s gaze stayed fixed on the rear window watching.

“WHO FOUND ME?” I shouted.

This time, he answered.

“The people who killed your parents.”

The world stopped.

Everything inside me went silent.

“…What?”

Rain blurred the city lights outside as I stared at him in disbelief.

My parents died in a car accident when I was eleven.

That’s what I’d always been told.

Alex finally looked at me fully.

And somehow his expression hurt worse than fear.

“It was never an accident.”

My chest tightened painfully.

“No.”

“They were murdered.”

“No.”

“You were supposed to die with them.”

“No!”

My voice cracked violently.

Because this couldn’t be real.

This had to be some sick manipulation tactic.

Some insane rich people's psychological game.

“You’re lying.”

“I wish I were.”

I shook my head repeatedly, tears burning unexpectedly behind my eyes.

“No. My aunt said—”

“Your aunt lied to protect you.”

I froze. Alex leaned slightly closer.

“Blair, listen carefully to me. Everything that happened after that night was controlled.”

I couldn’t breathe properly anymore.

“The apartment fires.”

What?

“The robberies.”

My stomach dropped.

“The school transfer.”

Cold flooded my body.

Because those things actually happened.

Things I’d always dismissed as bad luck.

Alex’s voice lowered.

“Every time they got close to finding you, I moved you.”

Moved me?

That’s why I changed apartments so much.

That’s why strange things kept happening around me.

That’s why—

My thoughts stopped suddenly.

A horrifying realization forming slowly.

“You’ve been watching me my entire life.”

Silence.

That was answer enough.

Tears burned hotter in my eyes now not sadness, overwhelm, confusion, fear, and violation.

Everything was mixed painfully.

“You don’t get to decide my life!”

Something dark flickered across his face.

“They would’ve killed you.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I watched them try.”

The car fell silent instantly.

Even Vanessa stopped speaking.

My pulse slowed painfully.

“What?”

Alex looked away toward the rain-covered window.

And suddenly he seemed tired not cold or dangerous just exhausted.

“I was there that night.”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

“You knew my parents?”

Another pause.

Then quietly—

“Yes.”

The air inside the SUV suddenly felt too small. Too heavy. Too full of secrets.

My mind raced desperately trying to connect pieces that refused to fit together.

Why would a billionaire CEO know my family?

Why protect me for years?

Why hide everything?

And why did it feel like everyone except me already knew the truth?

Vanessa suddenly cursed under her breath. I looked up immediately.

Headlights appeared behind us two black vehicles following closely. My fear returned instantly.

“They found us,” Vanessa said.

Alex’s expression hardened in seconds.

“How many?”

“At least four.”

The SUV behind us accelerated suddenly fast and aggressively. 

Then it slammed directly into the back of our car.

I screamed as the vehicle swerved violently.

“Hold on!” Vanessa shouted.

Another hit.

Harder this time the sound of twisting metal filled the car.

My hands shook uncontrollably as panic exploded inside me.

The black SUV pulled alongside us and through the rain-streaked window— I saw a man aiming a gun directly at my head.

Alex grabbed me instantly, forcing me down against him just as the window beside us shattered from gunfire.

Glass exploded everywhere.

My ears rang painfully.

Vanessa jerked the wheel sharply, speeding through an intersection as horns blared around us.

“What do we do?!” I cried.

Alex’s arm tightened around me protectively.

Then he said the one thing that terrified me most:

“They’re not trying to kill you yet.”

My blood ran cold.

Because somehow…

That sounded worse.