----
Desperation in her voice, Vivian shouted at the woman in
red, "What do you want from us? Will you let my son go?"
The womal}’s smile deepened, but
her eyes darkened with malice. ie
you dort’ want your daughter to
suffersyou can take her ced will
be ance little family lesson@on���t
yotsthink?"
----
Vivian picked up a knife from the ground, her resolve
steeling. She was ready to sacrifice herself for Danielle, but
before she could, Danielle snatched the de away from
her.
“Who knows if you’ll Keep your word? What if you don’t
release him, even if I do this?" Danielle shot back, her
voice cold and filled with distrust.
The woman in red’s face hardened. "You’re not in a
position to make demands."
“Perhaps, but you are," Danielle said, her voice icy. "Let me
know you can control the bomb. If not, I’ll just kill you, like I
just did your minions."
The woman’s smirk faltered. "You think you can provoke
me? You think I’ll fall for your tricks?" she sneered. "You
lost the moment you came after me."
----
Her eyes burned with rage. She moved to strike Danielle,
but Danielle was faster.
In an instant, Danielle hurled dozens of silver needles,
each finding its mark with lightning speed. Before the
woman could react, Danielle was on her, locking her grip
around her throat.
“You’re going to die before I do," Danielle hissed, her grip
tightening.
The woman in red writhed, but Danielle’s silver needles
held her in ce, pain shing across her face.
----
Just as Danielle prepared to finish
her, the soun@of approaching
footsteps eshoed inthecave.A ?~
man, fully armed, stepped into view,
blocking Danielle’s attack. With>a:
swiftivlove, he pulled the needles
froin’the woman’s neck, growling,
"Danielle, I will kill you for this."
"Danielle!" David’s voice rang out from behind.
----
The man threw a series of hidden des at Vivian.
Danielle, moving with lightning speed, flung herself in front
of Vivian, taking the des herself.
Blood surged from Danielle’s mouth, but she didn’t have
time to react. The man, seeing reinforcements arrive, threw
down a smoke bomb and retreated, dragging the woman in
red with him.
"Danielle!" David shouted, his voice trembling with fear as
he rushed toward her.
He yanked the des from her back, pulling her close.
“Danielle, please, stay with me. We’re getting you out of
here.”
----
Danielle, barely conscious, lifted her eyes and pressed the
remote into David’s hand. "Matthew..." she whispered,
before copsing into his arms.
David, his heart pounding, barked orders to his men. "What
are you waiting for? Save him!"
Vivian stood frozen, panic flooding her veins. The moment
she realized Danielle had lost consciousness, her heart
shattered. "Danielle, no... please, wake up."
The team managed to free Matthew, defusing the bomb
and confirming he was alive but badly injured. "Boss, he’s
still breathing. Just some superficial wounds."
David nodded, his focus shifting back to Danielle. "Good."
----
Howard, desperate to get to his
daughter, rushed toward her. Jaden,
noticing Xavier’s bloodied body,
stepped forward with a pained lo6k
on higcface. "I’ll carry him," Jadén
offefed quietly, looking at Haward
eo understanding.
Howard didn’t argue. He needed to get to Danielle. They
had all put her in this situation.
"Danielle, please... don’t scare me," Howard whispered,
tears streaming down his face as he cradled his daughter’s
broken body in his arms.