I stared at the phone in my hand, my fingers trembling uncontrollably. Cole had hung up on us. On Mateo. His own son.
"Your husband," Marcus said, his voice eerily calm as he paced before us, "just signed your death warrant."
The words echoed in the cavernous warehouse, bouncing off concrete walls that would soon witness our murder. I glanced at Mateo, his small body slumped in the chair beside mine, his eyes wide with confusion and terror. He couldn't hear what was happening, but he could read the tension in my face, the despair in my eyes.
"I need to use the bathroom," I said, forcing steadiness into my voice. "Before you... before you do it."
Marcus frowned, clearly annoyed by the request. "You're stalling."
"Would I ask if I had a plan?" I countered, trying to sound defeated. "I just don't want to die like this."
Something in my tone must have convinced him. With a disgusted sigh, he cut the ropes binding my legs, leaving my wrists still tied to the chair arms.
"Make it quick," he growled, shoving me toward a rusted metal door in the corner.
I stumbled forward, feeling Mateo's desperate eyes on me. *I won't leave you*, I signed with my fingers as I passed him, hoping he understood.
Inside the grimy bathroom, I frantically searched for anything useful—a weapon, a window, a way out. There was nothing. Just a cracked sink and a toilet that wouldn't flush. But my pocket still held my second phone—the one Marcus hadn't taken.
With shaking hands, I pulled it out and activated the voice recorder app. If we were going to die here, I needed to capture what happened. For justice. For truth.
"Please work," I whispered to the phone as I slipped it into the pocket of my jacket.
When I returned to the main warehouse space, Marcus was arguing with Haisley in hushed tones. I caught fragments—"too messy" and "make it look real."
"Time's up," Marcus announced as I approached. He was holding a knife now, its blade gleaming in the dim light filtering through the broken windows.
I moved quickly, positioning myself between Mateo and Marcus. "Please," I begged, "not my son. He's innocent."
"Innocent?" Haisley laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "He's a burden. Always has been."
I lunged at her then, forgetting my bound wrists, forgetting everything except the rage burning through my veins. "You monster!"
Marcus caught me mid-leap, twisting my arm painfully behind my back. "Enough games," he snarled.
I kicked wildly, connecting with something solid—Haisley's shin. She howled in pain, her perfectly manicured nails digging into Marcus's arm.
"Make it quick," she hissed.
Marcus nodded, his eyes cold. I saw the moment he decided—the slight narrowing of his eyes, the tightening of his grip on the knife.
With a strength born of desperation, I broke free from his grasp and threw myself over Mateo's chair. "Don't touch him!" I screamed.
The first stab came without warning—white-hot pain blooming in my side. I gasped, trying to remain upright, trying to shield my son.
"Mommy?" Mateo's hands signed frantically, his eyes wide with terror as he saw the blood spreading across my shirt.
"It's okay, baby," I lied, my voice breaking. "Mommy's here."
The second stab came higher, closer to my heart. I bit back a scream, refusing to show weakness before Haisley.
"Finish it," she commanded from behind Marcus.
I felt Mateo's small hands reaching for me, trying to pull me closer to him. My brave, sweet boy—even now, he was trying to protect me.
"Please," I whispered, though I wasn't sure if anyone could hear me. "Not my son."
But Marcus was already moving toward Mateo, knife raised. I struggled to stand, to intercept him, but my legs wouldn't cooperate.
The last thing I saw was Haisley's face—her cold, triumphant smile as she watched me die.
---
"Make it look real," Haisley instructed Marcus, her voice clinical and detached as she examined her perfectly manicured nails. "But not too bad—I don't want to leave any permanent marks."
Marcus nodded, his expression subservient. "What about the money?"
"Take it," she said, gesturing to the duffel bag at her feet—Cole's ransom payment for her "rescue." "It's clean. Untraceable."
"And the bodies?" Marcus asked, looking at our crumpled forms with professional detachment.
"Leave them," Haisley replied dismissively. "The police will find them eventually. I'll be long gone by then."
Marcus approached her cautiously, knife in hand. "Are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely," Haisley said, extending her wrist. "Make it look good, but don't actually break anything."
With a swift, practiced motion, Marcus twisted her wrist until she cried out in pain. Then, with the back of his hand, he struck her cheek—not hard enough to leave permanent damage, but enough to create an authentic-looking bruise.
"Perfect," Haisley murmured, touching her reddening cheek. "Now get out of here. I'll call the police in exactly seventeen minutes."
As Marcus disappeared into the night with the money, Haisley surveyed the bloody scene around her—our bodies sprawled on the warehouse floor, Mateo's small hand still reaching for mine.
"Clean up in aisle three," she whispered to herself, allowing a small smile to play at the corners of her mouth.
