Chapter 9: The Gunshot

For one terrifying second...

No one moved.

The sound of the gunshot echoed across the empty field.

Then the man in black staggered backwards.

A dark stain spread across his shoulder.

He looked down, surprised more than hurt.

"You missed," he muttered.

Samuel stepped in front of us, the smoking pistol trembling in his hand.

"I said stay away from her."

The man in black smiled.

"You've always been loyal."

He reached into his jacket.

Samuel raised the gun again.

"Don't."

"I wouldn't if I were you," the man replied calmly.

"You only have one bullet left."

Samuel's face changed.

How did he know?

The man chuckled.

"I know everything."

His eyes settled on me.

"Maya... your brother trusted the wrong people."

My heart pounded.

"You know my brother?"

"I knew him better than anyone."

"Where is he?"

The man's smile disappeared.

"If he wanted to be found, he would have come home."

"Liar!"

I took a step forward, but my mother pulled me back.

"Don't listen to him," she whispered.

"He wants to confuse you."

The man laughed.

"Confuse her?"

He slowly pulled a small object from his pocket.

It was a silver wristwatch.

Old.

Scratched.

The glass was cracked.

I recognised it instantly.

I'd given it to my brother on his seventeenth birthday.

There was a tiny scratch near the number twelve.

I remembered making that scratch by accident while wrapping the gift.

No one else could have known.

Tears blurred my vision.

"Where... did you get that?"

The man looked at me with cold eyes.

"He left it behind."

Samuel clenched his jaw.

"Stop playing games."

"This isn't a game."

The man tossed the watch onto the ground.

It landed at my feet.

As I bent to pick it up, I noticed something hidden beneath the leather strap.

A tiny piece of folded paper.

My hands shook as I unfolded it.

Only three words were written inside.

Don't trust Samuel.

I looked up.

Samuel was staring at me.

His expression had changed.

For the first time...

I wasn't sure whose side he was on.