Chapter 19 - THE QUEEN'S SACRIFICEEmma finally understood the game.
The Black Knight had been moving pieces around her.
The missing children.
The fake documents.
The hidden basement.
Daniel Cross.
Her father’s confession.
Every event had been designed to force her to make a decision.
But what decision?
Emma studied the chessboard.
The black knight represented the organization.
The white king represented her father.
The white queen represented Martha.
And the pawn…
Was Emma.
She looked at the board for a long time.
Then she moved the white pawn forward.
Martha immediately understood.
“You want to meet them.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“They won’t stop.”
“Emma, you’re seven years old.”
Emma looked at her mother.
“And they’ve been planning this since before I was born.”
Martha grabbed her daughter’s hand.
“I already lost your father. I will not lose you.”
Emma hugged her.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Then she whispered:
“I’m going to make them think I am.”
The next morning, news broke across the country.
Emma Wilson had been kidnapped.
The story spread everywhere.
Police searched the city.
News helicopters surrounded Hartwell Tower.
Martha appeared on television, crying.
But the kidnapping was fake.
Emma was hidden in a secure location.
Only three people knew where she was.
Martha.
Jonathan.
And Emma herself.
But twenty-four hours later, the Black Knight sent a message.
NICE TRY.
Emma stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
Emma looked at Jonathan.
“How?”
Jonathan checked the security systems.
Nothing.
No tracking device.
No hacked camera.
No compromised phone.
Then Emma noticed something.
Her teddy bear.
The one she had owned since she was a baby.
She slowly picked it up.
There was a tiny device hidden inside.
May you like
Emma’s face became pale.
“They’ve been listening to me my whole life.”
