Chapter 8 - THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out. I collapsed beneath a thick stand of pines, gasping for air, clutching my belly to soothe the baby who had been kicked frantically against my skin. Dawn had fully broken now, turning the sky pale gold, but the forest remained dim and shadowed.
I had nothing. No phone. No money. No food. No shelter. Julian was in their hands—injured, bleeding, possibly dead. Evelyn, Sarah, and Daniel were hunting me. And somewhere out there, a woman who looked exactly like me was waiting to take everything I had ever been.
I pulled my knees to my chest and wept—not from fear alone, but from the crushing weight of it all. Every person I had ever trusted had lied to me. Every memory I had cherished had been manufactured. My life was nothing but a stage play written by people who intended to destroy me.
Then I heard footsteps.
I scrambled upright, scrambling backward until my back hit a tree trunk. A man stepped out from behind the pines. He was not dressed like the men who had attacked us. He wore worn work clothes and carried a rifle slung over one shoulder. He stopped when he saw me, his eyes widening.
“Miss Ava?”
I froze. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Cole.” He shifted the rifle uncomfortably. “I work for Mr. Julian. He told me to keep watch over the cabin. Said if anyone came running out… especially you… I was to get you to safety.”
“You work for Julian?” I asked cautiously.
“Have done for years.” Cole glanced back toward the ridge. “Saw the cars. Saw the lights. Julian told me if things went bad, I was to get you to the safe house. He said you’d know what that meant.”
“He’s hurt,” I said, my voice trembling. “They took him.”
Cole’s expression hardened. “I figured as much. Come on. We can’t stay here. They’ll be fanning out soon.”
I hesitated. Julian had told me to trust no one. But Julian had also sent this man. And I had nowhere else to go.
I nodded. “Lead the way.”
We traveled through the forest for hours, moving steadily downhill, staying off the trails. Cole spoke little, but he moved with quiet competence—checking the path ahead, listening for sounds, shielding me from the roughest terrain.
“Julian talks about you,” he said once, as we paused beside a stream to drink. “Says you’re braver than you look.”
“Julian thinks a lot of things,” I said bitterly. “Most of them are wrong.”
Cole looked at me—really looked at me—with steady, honest eyes. “Not this one. He said you’d run. He said you’d fight. And he said you’d never give up, no matter what they told you.”
We reached the safe house by late afternoon—a small, plain cottage tucked in a valley miles from anywhere. It was modest, but it had thick walls, barred windows, and a heavy lock on the door.
“Julian built this place,” Cole said, bolting the door behind us. “Said it’s for when the Holloways finally lose their minds. Never thought I’d see the day.”
He showed me the kitchen, the bedroom, the supplies—canned food, water, blankets, first aid supplies. Enough to last weeks.
“He knew this would happen,” I said quietly. “Julian knew.”
“He’s been expecting it for a long time.” Cole paused. “Mr. Julian… he’s not like the rest of them. Never has been.”
I sat at the small wooden table in the kitchen, staring at my hands. “They have him, Cole. They’ll hurt him. To get to me.”
Cole leaned against the counter. “Julian knew that risk too. He told me—if he doesn’t return with you in three days… I’m to give you this.” He pulled a sealed envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table.
I reached for it with trembling fingers. The handwriting was Julian’s—neat, precise, steady.
*“For Ava, when the world feels too heavy to carry.”*
I broke the seal and unfolded the letter.
*“If you are reading this, then I have been taken. I may be hurt. I may be dead. But do not come for me. That is exactly what they want. They will use me as bait. They will promise to spare me if you surrender. Do not believe them. They will kill us both the moment they have what they want.*
*“You are stronger than you know. You are not just an heiress. You are not just a wife. You are the daughter of two people who built an empire on truth and courage. Lena is out there. Find her. Not to fight her, but to save her. She has been told lies her whole life. She believes she is the rightful heir. She believes you are the impostor. She does not know she is being used.*
*“Sarah works for Vane. Evelyn works for her greed. Daniel works for whoever promises him the most power. But Lena… Lena might be the one person on our side, if we can reach her before they do.*
*“The files in the safe were only the beginning. I kept copies of everything—emails, contracts, bank records, recordings. All of it encrypted and stored in a cloud drive. The password is your mother’s maiden name. Use it. Expose them. Take everything away from them. And then… then build something better.”*
I read the letter twice, tears blurring the words. Julian had planned for every possibility. He had prepared for his own capture. He had left me a path forward.
“He also said something else,” Cole said quietly. “Before he left the cabin that night. He said if anything happened to him… tell Ava to look for the girl. Not to fight her. To bring her home.”
I folded the letter carefully and tucked it into my dress, against my heart.
“I’m going to need a computer,” I said, standing up straight. “And I’m going to need you to help me find Lena.”
May you like
Cole nodded slowly. “Whatever you need.”
“Good.” I looked out the window, toward the darkening sky. “Because if they think I’m going to let them replace me and destroy everyone I love… they have absolutely no idea who they’re dealing with.”
