TRIGGER WARNING: Discussions of rape. SARAH I press myself against the stairs, trying to make myself smaller. My heart is beating so loud I’m sure he can hear it. I know I can. “Honestly, I just really want to talk to you,” he continues speaking. “I have a flashlight, you know. So hiding won’t help much. I’m going to find you regardless. This doesn’t have to take much of anyone’s time, really.” The beam of light moves closer, towards the staircase. Towards me. I need to move. Need to get upstairs, lock myself in my bedroom, find my charger… Fuck! Where the hell did my phone go? I can’t move. I’m frozen, crouched on these stairs like a scared animal. “What a big house you’ve got, must be nice. You know,” he says, and I hear his footsteps again, “I didn’t even know who you were until a few days ago. Isn’t that funny?” What? “I came home and my mum was crying. Like, really crying, the ugly type mind you. I hadn’t seen that in forever.” His voice gets closer. “She was watching the news. Your engagement announcement. And she just…kinda broke.” My mind is racing. His mom? Who— “She was cursing at the TV. Saying your name over and over. ‘Sarah Wellspring. Sarah fucking Wellspring.’ I had only ever heard such anger directed at my father. And he was fucked up. So I wondered what you could have done to make her so mad.” Oh God. “So I asked her what was wrong. And she wouldn’t tell me at first. Just kept crying and saying she was sorry. Sorry for what, right?” He laughs, and it’s a terrible, maniacal sound. “But I figured it out eventually. Perks of being a detective’s son, you learn how to dig.” My eyes widen, breath ceases in my throat. This can’t be…he can’t be who I think he is. He just…can’t. I shake my head. No. No no no. “Turns out, the HawkThorne brothers—your fiancés—they have something on her. Something about me.” His tone hardens, the anger begins to rise. “They’re blackmailing her, because of me. Because of one stupid mistake I made when I was sixteen. I wonder why. Why would they want to ruin our lives?” The flashlight beam hits the bottom of the stairs. “You’re the detective’s son.” I press my right palm against my mouth as an alarm goes off in my head. I didn’t mean to say it out loud. The exclamation was supposed to be in my head, not out loud. “There you are! Ding ding ding!” He laughs, sounding pleased. “She’s smart, folks. Duncan Thomas Walters, at your service.” Duncan. He must be Caroline’s son. The one who— “Emily Jefferson,” he says, and my blood runs cold. “That’s what this is about, right? That’s what they have on my mom. Evidence that I was there that night.” I grit my teeth at the way he says her name so casually, as though she was nothing, a speck of dust on his shoe he can afford to wipe away with his hands. “You raped and murdered her.” When I speak the words out loud, my heart drops to my stomach. “It was a mistake.” His tone is dismissive. “We were kids. Stupid kids who made a bad decision. And we didn’t rape her. She wanted to have an orgy with us. Stop wasn’t even the safe word. She wanted it. It was a fucking kink of hers. The safe word was red, but she kept on screaming ‘stop’. How were we supposed to know?” Jesus. He’s sicker than I thought, than I could ever imagine. Detective Caroline Walters, what the hell did you raise? “Look, I’m not here to explain myself to you. I’m here because you’re destroying my life, and I’m trying to get you to stop.” Slowly, I rise up to my feet despite my bruised knees and hands. I don’t see a world where this goes well, but I have to try. If there’s any bit of reason in the young man’s head, I need to latch on to it. I press my back against the wall for support, close my eyes, and suck in a deep breath before I speak. “Listen, I understand you want to…help your mum. But I don’t know you. I’ve never even met you before tonight. I can’t possibly be the one who wants to ruin your life.” “But you’re fucking the men who are!” His voice rises, echoing in the darkness. The desperation overpowers his annoyance. “The HawkThornes. You know they’re threatening to expose me. And my mom—” Something in his voice cracks. “My mom gave up everything for me. She destroyed evidence, risked her career doing it, all to protect me. And you’re going to let them destroy that?”The flashlight starts sweeping up the stairs. Another deep breath in. I can do this. I can do this. “I didn’t—” I start, but he cuts me off. “You did. You and your disgusting relationship.” His logic is twisted. Sick. But I can hear the conviction in it. “So really,” he continues, “this is your fault. All of it.” The beam of light hits step three below me. I’m out of time. “Duncan,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “This isn’t the answer. If you hurt me, they’ll know it was you. You’ve seen what they can do. You’ll never be able to hide from them.” “Will they?” He chuckles bitterly. “I was very careful. You know…” He pauses. “I installed the system, after all. I know exactly where the gaps are.” Oh God. He was one of the workers. That short kid in the coveralls. I barely looked at him. “You infiltrated their security company,” I realize. “Wasn’t hard. They were so focused on protecting you, they didn’t even do a proper background check on the workers who showed up that day. I had your house watched all through last night, you know. I was right around the corner.” The light is two steps below me now. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” Duncan says, and his voice loses all pretense of friendliness. “You’re going to have an accident. You’re a pregnant woman all alone, the lights went out, you tripped, fell, and died. No one was home to help you.” Fuck no. My right hand finds the stair railing, I grip it as firmly as I can. “And then,” he continues, “the HawkThornes will be too busy grieving to worry about my mom. The blackmail will stop. My life goes back to normal. Everyone wins. Well, except you, but you kinda deserve it though. Don’t you think?” The light hits the step directly below me. I can see him now. His young face, and cold eyes. He holds the gun casually. My breath hitches at the back of my throat. It sure isn’t the first time he’s taken a life. He’s going to kill me. The brothers are hours away in Geneva. Even if the panic button worked—and it might not have, given that he sabotaged the system—they won’t get here in time. Kevin is at dinner, and won’t be home tonight. I have no way of calling the police with my phone…I don’t even have a fucking clue where it is right now! It’s just me and this boy who’s already killed once and has nothing to lose, and everything to gain. “Duncan,” I hate how my voice shakes. “You don’t have to make another mistake. Please. I’m pregnant. There are two babies—” “I know.” He takes another step up. “That’s unfortunate. But like I said, you brought this on yourself.” The flashlight is right in my face now, blinding me. He’s one step away. I can smell him. This is it. This is the moment. I can stay here, frozen, and let him push me down these stairs. Or I can fight, just the same way I always have. Aaron tried to break me for six years and I survived. Julian tried to assault me and I fought back. Caroline tried to intimidate me and I stood my ground. I didn’t survive all of that just to die on these stairs at the hands of a teenage murderer who thinks his life matters more than mine. I didn’t claw my way out of an abusive marriage, build a company from nothing, find three men who actually love me, create two tiny lives inside my body—I didn’t do all of that to give up now. No. Hell no. The fear that’s been paralyzing me shifts. Transforms into something else. Something fierce. Something that sounds a lot like rage. I’m angry.Duncan raises the gun slightly, preparing to shove me or shoot me or whatever his plan is. And I realize something that changes everything. He’s between me and the front door. He’s blocking my only escape route. Which means if I’m going to survive this, I can’t run away from him. I have to go through him. So I realize the only thing I can do. The only thing left to do. .

Fight.