Chapter 5

My parents were finally lowered from the deck. The moment their feet touched solid ground, they clung to each other, breaking down in tears.

Down in the basement, I started crying uncontrollably. The weight of everything felt overwhelming. Nearby, Hunter stood to the side, on a phone call. It sounded like the gang had caught a spy sent by their enemies.

"There's no need to ask me about this kind of thing," he said coldly. "Deal with it. Cut off his head and send it over. Tell them it's a gift from me, Hunter. Anyone who dares oppose me, I'll make sure they die without a whole corpse."

Before he hung up, a high-pitched, distressed scream echoed from the other end of the line. Cold sweat trickled down my back.

In that moment, I once again realized that my life was hanging by a thread. When Hunter said something, he always followed through.

I don't know how I made it home. The moment my parents saw the state I was in, their eyes reddened in unison.

"Lily, what on earth happened?" my father asked shakily. "Why would that madman from the Levines suddenly kidnap your mother and me?"

Tears ran down my face. I knew I couldn't hide it any longer. Trembling, I told them everything—the truth about my first two lives.

After hearing how their daughter had died twice, they were consumed with guilt. My father kept slapping himself.

"It's all my fault," he cried. "If I hadn't been scammed back then, you wouldn't have had to meet that lunatic from the Levines just to pay off debts! Lily, I failed you… I'm so sorry…"

My mother, still sharp despite the situation, shoved my father aside.

"That's enough! What's the point of saying this now?" she snapped. "If you can't help, at least don't make things worse!"

"Lily," she continued urgently, "who exactly is the person he wants you to protect? Have you figured it out yet? There's no time left. If it really comes down to it, we'll fake our deaths and escape overseas. I refuse to believe he'd still be able to find us!"

As her words fell, my father's hands trembled as he pulled back the curtain. On the glass of the opposite window, two red dots glowed ominously. One was centered on my father's forehead. The other rested squarely over my mother's heart.

I closed my eyes in despair, replaying Hunter's words over and over in my mind.

'Patricia. Open and legitimate. Just playing along…'

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make sense of the connection.

I pushed my parents aside and went into my room alone. When I opened the listening app, something caught my eye. It was a new audio file I'd missed. It had been recorded at night, and Hunter had been at home, just a wall away. I'd never suspected anything.

I tapped to play it.

All I could hear were the intimate, breathless sounds of a man and a woman.

No words, just sounds. No clues.

And yet, I froze.

So that was the truth. No wonder I'd been wrong every single time.

I shot to my feet, clutching my phone, dialing as I ran downstairs.

"Hello?" I barked into the phone. "Everyone, return the way you came. Operation cancelled. Stand down."

The day of that woman's delivery arrived before I knew it.

I reserved a room at a hotel across from the hospital and set up binoculars to observe every movement.

When I saw Hunter dash into the hospital without hesitation, I couldn't help but smile mockingly. 'Your demand has been fulfilled. Just don't regret it later.'