Rose pressed her hand harder against her wound, her fingers slick with warm blood. She had been shot. The red stain spread, seeping through the fabric of her shirt.
A dry, bitter chuckle escaped her lips.
Actually... this was great.
The Vatican and her father could tear each other apart, destroy themselves in their endless battle for power. They could fight and scheme for eternity. She wouldn't be there to watch.
Because even if she decided to give things another shot and crawled to a hospital—they would find her, then lock her up.
Right now she knew she had time to either go to the hospital or deliver the Blue Program and new names to Elijah.
She was tired. So tired of all of it.
And to be honest if she died all her problems would be solved.
Everyone had betrayed her.
Everyone.
There was nowhere left to run where she didn't have to question if she was being watched, manipulated, or fearing when she'd be taken.
How had she ever thought she could save those orphans—
When she couldn't even save herself?
Rose licked her lips, her throat dry as she struggled to hold the bleeding in, to slow the inevitable. She turned the lantern of her phone toward the room.
The drawings stared back at her. Elijah...
She needed to hurry but first...
Rose's fingers trembled as she grabbed her phone, her vision blurring, her limbs growing weaker.
She dialed.
The moment the call connected, Jonathan's voice burst through the line, frantic, panicked.
"Rose?! For God's sake—where are you?! Are you okay?!"
She could hear the terror in his voice, the urgency.
"They placed a false transport—we followed it, intercepted it, but you—you weren't there—"
Rose did everything in her power to steady her voice. She needed him to believe her.
Lie, Rose. Lie.
"It's alright," she whispered, her breath shaky. "I escaped."
A deep, shuddering sigh came through the line.
"Where are you? I can—"
"No." Rose cut him off, forcing her voice to remain calm.
"Listen to me, Jonathan. This call is quick."
There was silence, but she knew he was holding his breath.
"I have to disappear," she whispered. "Far. I'll hide. I won't be able to contact you. But I'll be safe, okay?"
She heard him swallow.
"I tried," she whispered.
"For justice. I tried."
A pause.
"We can—" Jonathan started, but Rose shook her head, even though he couldn't see her.
"No," she said, gritting through the pain, pressing her hand harder against the wound.
"I can't keep playing with children's lives. I lost and we both know what that means."
There was a sharp inhale from the other side.
YOU ARE READING
Found Obsession
Mystery / ThrillerDetective Roselyn Hansley wakes up to a nightmare she can't remember. Drowned by a serial killer and left for dead, her body survived-but her memories didn't. Stripped of her past and thrust into a life of uncertainty.. As Rose returns to her work...
