The nurse came in with a tray and he smiled at her as he looked at her dripping IV. “Good evening, Miss Madden. How are you feeling?”

“Good,” she answered lazily. “Where’s my mother?”

“I saw her walk out a few minutes ago. She’ll be back soon, don’t worry,” he said, placing the tray beside her bed.

“What’s that?” she asked when she saw him lift a syringe.

“This will help you sleep,” he answered, flicking the syringe with one finger to get rid of the bubbles.

“I don’t want to sleep,” she said, taking her hand away from him when he tried to reach for it. “I feel fine.”

The glitter in his eyes caused her to panic. She had seen that look many times on Carl. It was a look of someone who didn’t have remorse, someone with a purpose.

“You need to relax, Miss Madden. You’ve been through a lot of stress. This med will help you,” he tried to reassure her, going for her hand again.

“No,” she cried out. “Get out of my room.”

Anger flashed across the nurse’s eyes and before Hope could scream for help, his strong hand covered her mouth.

“Shut the fuck up,” he hissed over her. “You’ve been making this difficult for me, bitch.”

Hope’s eyes widened. The man had pinned her down on the bed. She tried to kick him but that did not work. Her good hand went to her other hand and she pulled on her IV. Blood was oozing out of her punctured skin but that was the least of her concern.

The man hovering above her was intent on killing her one way or the other.

*****

Devin was restless inside the car. Burton had been cursing his phone for the last few minutes. The person he was trying to call picked up on their first try but did not say a word. On their second attempt, the call was rejected.

“I’m missing something,” Burton murmured.

“What?”

“There’s something about the first call that I can’t point out,” he said with impatience. His eyes turned to the other agent behind the wheel. “Where are we on the numbers?”

“They’re still running them,” the agent answered.

“What was it about the first call?” Devin asked Burton.

“I told you, I can’t point it out.”

“We better get inside the hospital. You better get inside and check if she’s all right.”

Burton was not hearing him. The man was obviously trying to decode whatever it was that was bothering him. Devin was about ready to jump out of the car and go to Hope when Burton finally cursed out loud, unbuckling his seatbelt in haste.

“What is it?” Devin demanded.

“The paging system. Shit!” He was already opening the door. “It’s the hospital paging system I heard in the background. The suspect is inside!” He stopped Devin when he made a move to get out of the car. “You stay right here. James, call Brighton and Malik. Tell them not to leave Madden’s room!” And then he was running toward the hospital entrance.

“You heard him. Don’t get out,” the driver told Devin as he dialed on his phone. “You may think you can help, but you won’t. Let us handle this for once.”

Devin didn’t know how to answer that one. He knew he was no good when it came to shooting and fist fights. The man was right. He should let Burton and the others handle this one. 

*****

The hand was no longer covering her mouth. It was now around her throat and Hope strained for breath. She could feel the veins on her neck and temple engorging with the pressure.

A few more seconds and the darkness would consume her. Her lungs would give up and they would not find the need for oxygen. Her brain would cease to function along with her heart. Ironic how things could end this way for her, she thought. Just as when she was safe from Carl’s madness, from Devin’s sadistic enemies. Just as when she was ready to face the aftermath of what she had been through, this happened.

She could hear the humming sound of blood in her ears. The even breathing of her killer was no longer audible. Her hands were scratching his hand but they were getting frail. The light on the ceiling was starting to get dimmer.

And then the pressure was gone. The clamping on her throat eased and her lungs urged her throat to gasp in air.

The air came, filled her lungs. But it needed more. Hope gasped for more air as she wailed her arms to fend off any attacks.

Her senses came back and she heard the commotion. The two agents were pinning her attacker face down on the floor, holding his hands behind his back.

“Take him out of here now,” she heard the familiar voice. The two agents pulled the man up and dragged him out of the room.

Burton.

Hope’s eyes widened and she pushed herself up on the bed, against the headboard. She saw Burton walk toward her, his face full of concern. “You okay?”

“Stay away from me,” she choked out before she coughed.

Burton opened his mouth to say something but her mother and a group of nurses and doctors were already storming inside.

“Hope! Oh my god! What happened?! Who are you?!” she demanded at Burton, stepping closer to Hope. She went to her bag, opened it and took out a gun. “You stay away from my daughter! All of you!” she shouted, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Ma’am, we just saved your daughter’s life,” Burton said calmly, holding up his hands before him. “Please put down the gun.”

“I left my daughter for just a few minutes and this happens! You can’t blame me if I don’t trust any of you!” she said, swinging the gun toward Burton, the nurses, and the doctors.

“We just captured the man who tried to kill your daughter,” Burton said calmly. “If you let me, I have a badge inside my jacket. I will show it to you.”

Hope looked at her mother with concern. Where did she get her gun? She wanted to tell her that everything was okay, but because of her history with Burton, she was not sure either. She watched her mother nod once and Burton slowly reached inside his jacket. When his hands reappeared, he was holding his badge. “I am with the FBI.”

“Oh my god,” Gina Madden said, her voice shaking. “I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

“Just put the gun down, Ma’am, and we’ll talk,” Burton tried again. Gina Madden did not let go of her gun but she put it down.

“What happened? I want to know what happened,” Gina Madden demanded. “I was gone for just a few minutes and things dramatically progressed this way! Where are those agents when we needed them? When my daughter needed them?!”

“Miss Madden, give me the gun and we’ll talk,” Burton said slowly.

Hope turned to her mother. She was tired and she wanted this to be over with, but she couldn’t tell her mother to give the gun to Burton.

“Everyone, out of the room,” Burton ordered the nurses and doctors and they immediately complied.

“Miss Madden, give me the gun. The killer is now being driven to the station. The danger is over.”

Then his phone rang. Everyone held their breath. Gina Madden continued to cry but was not making any move to give Burton the gun. Hope was motionless in her bed.

Burton looked like he was assessing the situation and he finally sighed. “I am going to answer this call, okay? Put the gun down on the table, Miss Madden.”

“Not gonna happen until I am certain Hope is out of any danger. I don’t trust anyone right now.”

Burton did not answer but he slowly reached for his phone. He tapped it and placed it against his ear.

Hope saw the change on his face as he listened to whoever was on the other line.

*****

“Holy shit, this can’t be real,” the driver muttered as he looked at his phone.

“What is it?” Devin demanded.

But the man did not answer him. Instead, he hastily dialed another number and waited for an answer with the phone firmly set against his ear. Devin waited in anticipation, holding on to the headrest of the passenger seat. The doors were locked so he had no other choice but to stay inside.

“Burton, the result just came in. We’ve checked the numbers and one of them belongs to someone who is directly connected to Hope Madden.”

Devin’s heart started pumping against his chest.

*****

Burton did not utter a word until the phone call was over. His eyes darted toward Hope and back to her mother.

“Miss Madden, I want you to put the gun down now. This is an order,” he said firmly, his voice deadly serious.

Her mother shook her head. “Not until you can prove to me that my daughter is safe.”

“She won’t be safe unless you put that gun down. Let us talk this out. The man we have in custody is now outside the hospital. He is far away from you and your daughter. He is not gonna harm anyone anymore.”

But Gina Madden shook her head and held the gun up and pointed at Burton. “I don’t trust you. I haven’t seen you until now. Why would I do what you say? Who was that who called you?”

“It was one of the agents who have your daughter’s attacker. They just called to report that they are on their way to the station.”

Hope finally found her voice and said, “Mom, put down the gun.”

“How can you be stupid, Hope? We don’t know this man! He just popped in. He can kill us both—”

She was not able to finish her sentence because Burton had swiftly moved toward her and seconds later, she was on the floor, the gun now in Burton’s hands.

Hope started to panic. She moved to punch the alarm but Burton’s words stopped her. “Georgina Madden, you are under arrest for kidnapping and attempted murder.”

“What?! What are you saying? Let go of me! Hope, call the nurses. Call for help!” her mother shouted.

“Go ahead, Hope, call for help. But since your mother just tried to kill you, you might want to keep this quiet.”

“What are you talking about?” Hope demanded.

Burton did not answer. He lifted Gina Madden off the floor and handcuffed her hands behind her back. “What do you think are you doing?! I did not do anything! Hope, call for help now!”

Burton threw Gina Madden on the chair and said, “Stay still while we wait for the police to pick you up.”

“Hope, call for help now before he kills us!”

But Hope couldn’t move. She felt like she was watching a horrible movie with horrible actors.

Burton was working on his phone and he looked at Hope. “Remember that list of contacts you and Devin found in Briggs’ house?”

Hope just stared at him but did not say anything.

“This number right here is one of them,” he said, holding up his phone. “I am going to call it now.” He was looking straight at Hope’s eyes as he placed the phone against his ear while holding her mother’s gun with the other hand.

The ringing came from somewhere and Hope’s eyes widened in disbelief. She turned to her mother agape with horror, her eyes welling up with tears. Gina Madden was shaking her head as Burton walked toward her and grabbed the phone from her jeans pocket. “He’s lying. Hope, don’t believe them. I am being framed! That is not my phone! Someone left it in my bag! I was out to take it to the security of the hospital minutes ago!”

Burton cancelled the call and the ringing stopped. He placed her mother’s phone on the table beside the bed. Hope looked at the phone for a few seconds. It was the same phone she took outside minutes ago.

She wondered why she couldn’t believe her own mother. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t believe anything right now. The tears just fell out of her eyes and she moved even further against the headboard, her knees lifting up to protect her. She hugged her legs as she continued to stare at her mother in disbelief.

“Hope…” her mother called out desperately.

Hope’s jaw clenched. And her memories started to come back, the pieces falling into place like magnets finding their perfect match. Hope’s breathing became ragged as the reality dawned on her. “You…” she tried to speak but the word barely escaped her throat. She gulped and tried again, her tears blurring her mother’s form sitting on the chair with her hands cuffed behind her back. “You…you knew about the change of scene before I did,” she said in a shaky voice. “They told you about the kidnapping scene the day before I knew,” she added, her voice getting stronger.

Gina Madden frantically shook her head. Burton was standing beside her mother, watching and listening. “No. There are other people who knew about it—other people responsible for the taping that day!”

“But they don’t know about my locket,” Hope cried out. “Very few people knew about it.” She could still feel her necklace around her neck and it seemed to be getting heavier by the second. “You placed an imitation in that barrel, didn’t you? Or was it Carl?!” she almost screamed as anger consumed her. She could remember some nights she would hear Carl talking to someone on the phone and she wondered now if one of those calls were from her own mother. She could feel something quench her heart and she stifled a moan to control the pain but it only spiraled down to her fingertips and she started shaking. “Why? Why did you do it? Why did you want me dead?” she asked the questions while gasping for air. A part of her wanted Burton to take her away from the room, far away where no one knew her. Better yet, she could grab the gun and shoot herself. She bit on her lips to keep from crying out loud and she tasted blood.

“You were never meant to die.”

Hope stopped breathing. Her body stilled. The shaking paused for a while. If it were a movie, someone had pushed the pause button.

Her mother’s voice had completely changed. She looked up and saw that Gina Madden was no longer crying. Her lips were no longer shaking but one corner was tugged upward in a lopsided grin.

Hope felt the breath being snatched out of her chest as she stared at her mother’s angry eyes.

“You were never meant to die, Hope. I just needed you to disappear for good.”

The act was over. It seemed that her mother was finally ready to talk.

Hope didn’t think she wanted the truth after all.