TENACITY

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Trey's House

She tried to keep the smile off her face but to no avail. The homeowners and their friends and family smiled back at her because they mistook her excitement for being because of the gathering.

Only she knew what crucial a part she was going to play in what was about to go down, and boy, was she hyped. She paused when she saw her half-brother and smiled like the good old lady she was posing as. "Congratulations once more boss."

She saw his face pucker into a slight frown and wondered if she'd said something wrong. But the frown was gone as quickly as it came, leaving her to wonder if she'd truly seen it.

"Thank you," he said, showing off his perfect teeth with a smile. She sneered internally. He would soon feel what it was like to lose everything—just like she and her mother had, just so that he could have it all. He hadn't been given anything yet, but she would make sure he didn't live to see that day.

She plastered on a smile. "I'm going to get the upstairs rooms cleaned up in case any of your friends would like to spend the night." She paused, tilting your head. "Your mother and her husband will definitely stay, won't they?"

"Of course," he answered immediately. Then he added, "They did fly over from another continent, and I will not let them stay in a hotel when we have this big house and this much space."

She gave him another smile. "Alright then. I'll get to that. You kids enjoy yourself."

He lifted a brow in question. "You don't want to join us? You've been like another mother to us all."

What?

'Geez, I'm only thirty-three,' she thought.

"It's okay. I'll get to see them every day anyway but thank you for the offer." She gave him a pat on the arm. "I'm glad you think of me as a part of your family." She stepped back and called the lift. "Let me know if you need anything okay?"

Trey smiled. "I think we've got it handled, but yeah, I'll let you know when we need something."

"Good."

She stepped into the lift, snarling when Trey began walking away, whistling. She saw him head towards the stairs, and realized he was going to check on his wife and the babies. She smirked as the lift began ascending.

The bug in her ear crackled to life not long after. "Carter, can you hear me?" She hummed in response. "Good. We're here, and I'm quite disappointed that they still haven't changed much. I honestly doubt this would be a challenge—there would be no thrill."

"I think per what you told her," Nicolysse chipped in, "they expected you to steal the babies from the hospital. I did hear that security was tight during the time they spent there."

Ethan laughed, and Carter could hear Nicolysse shushing him. "Well," he muttered when he stopped laughing, "their mistake. They obviously think they're in the clear. Carter?"

"I'm here," she mumbled right before the doors of the lift opened. She hobbled out, moving towards the supply closet for the third floor.

"We're positioned in the maze right now—only a few minutes to go. Stay on the third floor Carter; whatever you do, don't go down to the second or even the first. Staying there when they've started grants you an alibi. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Then when it's close to the time of the 'power outage', I'll inform you, so you start getting ready. As soon as the lights are out, get down to their floor as quickly as possible, lower the kids on our signal, and go back up before the lights come on." Ethan breathed, and when he next spoke, she could feel the tension in his words.