CHAPTER 3: THE WOMAN LIED... BUT THE BULLET DIDN'T
"They know you're here."
The woman's voice barely escaped her lips.
Emma didn't understand.
"Who knows?"
The woman grabbed her wrist.
"No time."
The hotel room lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then—
BANG!
A gunshot shattered the silence.
The window exploded into thousands of glittering pieces.
Emma screamed as the woman threw herself over the little girl, shielding her with her own body.
Another shot.
Then another.
Glass rained across the floor.
The assassin wasn't trying to scare them.
He was trying to make sure no one left Room 1708 alive.
"Stay down!" the woman whispered.
Emma's heart pounded so violently she thought it would burst.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Slow.
Heavy.
Confident.
Someone was coming.
The doorknob turned.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
CRASH!
The hotel door flew open.
Three men dressed in black tactical clothing stormed inside with suppressed pistols.
Their faces were hidden behind masks.
One of them held up a photograph.
Emma's photograph.
"Take the girl."
"The boss wants her alive."
The woman reached inside her coat and pulled out a compact handgun.
Emma stared in disbelief.
"You... you have a gun?"
"I promised your mother I'd protect you."
She fired twice.
One attacker collapsed instantly.
The others scattered behind the furniture.
Bullets ripped through the walls.
Smoke filled the room.
The woman grabbed Emma's hand.
"Run!"
They sprinted toward the emergency staircase.
The alarms finally began screaming throughout the hotel.
Guests flooded into the hall in panic.
Perfect chaos.
Exactly what they needed.
Or so they thought.
Halfway down the stairs...
The woman suddenly froze.
A single red laser dot appeared on her chest.
Then another.
Then five more.
Snipers.
Emma looked upward.
Across the street, red dots glowed from the rooftops.
They had been surrounded before they ever entered the hotel.
The woman slowly stepped in front of Emma.
"No matter what happens..."
"...don't let them take you."
Before Emma could answer—
A deafening rifle shot echoed through the city.
The woman collapsed into Emma's arms.
Blood stained her black coat.
Emma cried uncontrollably.
"No! Please! Don't leave me!"
With her final breath, the woman reached into her pocket and pressed a small flash drive into Emma's trembling hand.
"If the police find this..."
"...your father dies."
"If the wrong people find it..."
"...millions will."
Emma stared at the tiny device, confused.
"What is it?"
The woman smiled weakly.
"The truth..."
Then her hand fell lifelessly to the floor.
Emma was alone.
The masked men were only seconds away.
She turned to run—
And nearly collided with a tall man wearing a dark hoodie.
He caught her before she fell.
For a terrifying second, Emma thought she had been captured.
Then the stranger pulled down his hood.
Blue eyes.
The same blue eyes from the black SUV.
Her father.
Except...
He wasn't looking at Emma.
He was staring at the dead woman.
His face turned white.
He whispered only four words.
"They found Sarah first..."
Emma frowned.
"Sarah?"
The man closed his eyes in pain.
"She wasn't your protector..."
"...She was your real mother."
Emma felt the world collapse beneath her feet.
If Sarah had just died...
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Then whose funeral had Emma cried at six years ago?
To be continued...
