Chapter 5
“Daniel?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
His face was older, harder, but there was no mistaking those sharp blue eyes. Daniel Monetti–my childhood friend, the one I thought I’d lost forever–stood before me, a mixture of urgency and relief on his face.
“Daphne,” he said, his voice steady. “We don‘ t have much time. Trust me, you need to come with us.”
The chaos outside grew louder–voices shouting, footsteps pounding against the concrete. My heart raced as I looked at him, torn between disbelief and the desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t as alone as I thought.
Before I could answer, Daniel grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet. “Let’s go!”
As I followed him into the shadows, one thought burned in my mind: this wasn’t
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over. Not by a long shot.
The cold night air whipped against my face as Daniel dragged me through the dark, narrow alleyways. His grip on my arm was firm, almost bruising, as though he feared I might slip away.
Shouts echoed behind us, boots pounding against pavement. My heart raced, my breath coming in short, frantic bursts. I had no idea where he was taking me, but I clung to the faint hope that whatever awaited me was better than the cold
confines of a jail cell.
“This way!” Daniel hissed, yanking me to the left.
A blinding spotlight swept across the alley, followed by the thunderous roar of helicopter blades. My stomach clenched. They were relentless, and I knew this prison break would be headline news by
dawn.
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“Faster!” one of the masked figures barked.
My legs burned as we pushed forward. At the end of the alley, a black car screeched to a halt, its tires skidding on the wet asphalt. The passenger door flew open, and Daniel shoved me inside before climbing in
sthous
after me.
as, bo
eart
Drive!” he barked at the woman in the
river’s seat.
frahe had short, choppy hair and sharp eyes as tahat darted to the rearview mirror. Without That word, she slammed her foot on the pedal, thand the car lurched forward.
glanced out the back window, my heart ad yanking as flashing red and blue lights.
appeared in the distance. The helicopters erhead were relentless, their beams
eptam
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tomach
itting through the darkness. The roar of e sirens grew louder, closer.
nd Ik his isn’t working!” the woman shouted header the chaos. “They‘ re gaining on us!”
hen lose them, Sue!” Daniel snapped, his
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voice tense.
“Oh, brilliant idea, Daniel!” Sue shot back. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Their bickering grated on my already frayed nerves. I leaned forward, gripping the back of Sue’s seat. “You‘ re not going to lose them like this,” I said, my voice sharp.
Sue glared at me in the mirror. “And what would you suggest, Miss Jailbird? Send them a polite letter asking them to stop?”
I ignored her sarcasm. “Let me drive.”
“Are you insane?” Sue barked.
“Do it,” Daniel said, his tone leaving not room for argument.
Sue threw her hands up in exasperation, bringing the car to a sudden halt. “Fine! But if we end up in a ditch, it’s on you.”
I scrambled into the driver’s seat, my fingers wrapping around the steering wheel. The adrenaline coursing through
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me drowned out any fear.
“Hold on,” I muttered, slamming the gear
into drive.
The tires screeched as I sped forward, weaving through the narrow streets. My eyes scanned every corner, every turn, searching for an escape route. The suburbs loomed ahead was a maze of quiet streets. and cul–de–sacs. Perfect.
The car barreled through the
neighborhood, the flashing lights falling farther behind us. I took a sharp turn, nearly grazing a parked car, before diving into a tunnel that ran beneath the city. The darkness enveloped us, the sound of the helicopter blades fading into silence.
When we emerged on the other side, the police were gone. For the first time in what felt like hours, I let out a shaky breath.
“Holy-” Sue began, but I cut her off.
“We’re clear,” I said, pulling the car onto a deserted road and bringing it to a stop.
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Chapter 5
The silence that followed was deafening. I could feel their eyes on me, a mixture of curiosity and judgment. I glanced down at my tattered detainee outfit, a grim reminder of what I’d just escaped from.
Daniel broke the silence. “You‘ ve still got it, Daph.”
I turned to him, narrowing my eyes. “Still got what? A knack for chaos?”
He smiled faintly. “For survival.”
I crossed my arms, leaning back in the seat. “You didn’t answer my question. Why did you help me?”
Daniel’s expression grew serious. “Because I know what you‘ re fighting against.”
I frowned, confusion knitting my brow.
“The moment I heard you killed Victor Salvani, I knew,” he continued. “You weren’t just lashing out or trying to save yourself. You were striking at a monster–a
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man who ruined countless lives. It was bold, Daphne. Reckless, but bold.”
Sue snorted. “Bold or not, you should be thanking us. You‘ d be rotting in a cell if we hadn’t shown up.”
I shot her a glare but stayed quiet.
Daniel leaned closer, his tone softening. “You‘ ve always been a fighter, Daphne. But you‘ re not alone in this.”
My stomach twisted. I didn’t know what he meant, but his words felt heavy, layered with meaning. “What‘ s going on, Daniel? Why are you here? Why now?”
He exchanged a glance with Sue and the others, then looked back at me. “Because it’s bigger than you or me. I’m part of an organization—a group that fights back against people like Salvani. We call ourselves the Obsidian Knight.”
I blinked, unsure if I’d heard him. correctly. “Obsidian Knight?”
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Chapter 5
He nodded. “We hunt the untouchables.
The ones who think they re above the law, who destroy lives for profit and power. We’ve been watching Salvani‘ s empire. for years.”
“And now you want me to join you?” I asked, my voice laced with skepticism.
Daniel’s eyes searched mine, and for a moment, I saw the boy I used to know–the one who believed in doing the right thing, no matter the cost.
“Only if you‘ re ready,” he said. “But first, we need to know, how far are you willing to go to finish what you started?”
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