Suddenly the ball of flame behind him lets out a hiss and I widen my eyes, George beginning to turn towards it as the car finally explodes. Screaming, I curl in on myself as the deafening roar sounds through the night, a bright light pouring through my shut eyes, a wall of heat surrounding me as I shake with fear.

As the sound finally quietens I quickly unravel, shrapnel filling the air, Brett's car not even resembling the gorgeous vehicle that it used to be. George lays on the ground at the side of the road, his eyes flickering slightly.

He's down. Now's the time to get out of here Savannah!

Without another thought I turn, attempting to scramble to my feet. It's a struggle, my body still reeling from the accident, my head still swirling with blurred images. Stumbling straight into the woodland, I force myself into a run as adrenaline takes over, my heart beating faster than I ever thought was possible, the trees tearing at my clothes.

George is going to come after me, he'll be chasing through these woods as soon as he's back on his feet, and I'm not hanging around for him to catch me.

After a few minutes I leave the protection of the trees, running instead into a clearing. Glancing around in panic, I am relieved to realize that I'm in the park by Brett's house, the same park that I walked through only a week ago with my sister.

I know where I am.

The question is, where do I go? Going back to Brett will put him in danger, I can't tell him what I know or his Father will target him. Do I run? Take myself and our baby far away to keep us all safe?

I take a few steps towards the opposite end of the park, away from Brett's house before I falter.

George is going to expect me to return to Brett. That's the first place he's going to look now that I've run. Brett isn't safe, even if I do leave.

Turning back the other way I sprint as though my life depends on it, terror overtaking the pain and suffering that my body is feeling. Brett's life is in danger, and I don't know if I can save us.

It takes me less than five minutes before I am throwing myself up the familiar driveway, relief flooding through me at the sight of the lights inside the house. Grabbing onto the door I shove it open, falling onto the floor and quickly slamming it shut behind me.

"Brett!" I scream, stumbling back onto my feet as I run into the living room, eyes wide as I search, "Brett!"

"Sav?" Brett comes running out of his office, panic in his voice, "What's wro...?" His words trail off at the sight of me and before I can blink he's right in front of me, clutching my arms, "What the hell happened? Who did this to you?" He orders, rage filling his eyes. I can only imagine how I look, bruised and battered face, bleeding hands, torn clothing.

I only left to get some frosting and chocolate. Oh, the whipped cream would have been so good...

"Your..." I try, choking slightly as I falter, his arms holding me up.

"Sav?"

"Your Dad." I spit out.

"My Dad?" His eyebrows furrow as I look up at him.

"He tried to kill me!"

"What?" Brett exclaims, eyes widening in confusion.

"He said that your Mom killed my parents!" I blurt, "I lost control of the car, it turned itself off and he said it was him who immobilized it!" I cry, "Is that even possible?"

"If you know the right people and have enough money." Brett retorts, his jaw clenched as his grip on me tightens, "Are you sure he wasn't just..."

"Brett!" I cut him off, grabbing onto his white shirt with my bloody hands, "He blackmailed Georgia into spiking and seducing you! He staged the armed robbery at the diner!"

"Maybe he's..."

"He torched your car! He pulled a gun on me!" I continue, his eyes finally clouding over, accepting what I'm saying, trusting my words.

"Where is he?" He says lowly, making a move to walk around me.

"I don't know!" I cling onto him, not willing to let go, "The car exploded and I ran as fast as I could, I didn't know what else to do!" I cry and he turns back, taking in my distressed expression.

"Shh! You're safe." He mutters against my hair as I bury my head in his chest, breathing in his familiar, comforting scent, "We'll call the cops." He says, him pulling his cell out of his pocket.

"I don't think you will." George's voice sounds out and I yelp into Brett's chest, the tears returning to my eyes almost instantly.

"Dad?" Brett exclaims as I move my face, turning to look at the familiar gun that is now aimed towards the both of us. The right side of George's face is almost ghastly to look at, a burning piece of shrapnel from the explosion having clearly hit him.

"Slide the phone across the floor." George orders, "Now!" He snaps, turning the gun to me.

"Okay, okay!" Brett holds his arm up in a surrender, slowly lowering himself to the floor and throwing the phone over towards him, "Here!" He says before rising back up and grabbing hold of me, pulling me behind him.

"I'm sorry about the car Brett."

"You really torched it?" Brett says disbelievingly.

"It had become too much of a risk, what with Savannah still around," George shrugs, "Did you tell him?" He asks me, a sick smile playing on his lips as I whimper, shaking my head. Brett shouldn't have to find this out, he should never know that the car he's been driving for all these years had been involved in a fatal hit and run. "Do you remember when you got the car Brett?"

"Yeah." Brett replies, "I was fifteen. It was Mom's and she didn't want it anymore."

"She never wanted to drive ever again." George nods, "Not after that night."

"What?" Brett's voice cracks slightly and my heart breaks for him. Resting my head against his shoulder I let the tears flow down my face, "Wait, you mean Mom was the one..." He trails off, "In... in that car?"

"Sadly. It was the only real evidence that was left." George replies, "Sit down."

"No."

"Brett, if you don't sit down I will shoot a bullet straight through her head!" George yells, Brett immediately grabbing hold of me, pulling us over down onto the couch, angling himself so that he is covering me as much as possible.

"You're a fucking dickhead." Brett spits out.

"It was good between us when you first started working for me all those years ago, probably the only decent thing Savannah ever did."

"I didn't want him working for you!" I snap, sitting forward slightly.

"Sav!" Brett shoots me a warning glare, holding me back.

"That's good son." George grins, "Keep her in check."

"Don't you even begin to..."

"You're a disappointment, son." George cuts him off, waving the gun around as he sits on the edge of the armchair, "Always going back to this whore time and time again."

"She's not a..."

"Don't you want to hear me out?"

"Hear you out?"

"Isn't that what the villain is supposed to do?" George shrugs, "It's taken me this fucking long and the stupid bitch is still alive, I really think she ought to hear how long she evaded me."

"If you call her a bitch one more time!" Brett stands up and I immediately rush to grab onto him, terrified of George putting a bullet between his eyes.

"What?" George taunts, extending his arm and moving the aim of the gun across my body, "I have enough time to put eight bullets in her before you reach me, and I'll make sure to aim for the stomach."

"You bastard!" Brett snaps.

"Am I? I'm not the one who drives drunk." George shrugs, "Oh no, that's you and your Mother!" Brett goes to take a step towards him.

"Brett..." I exclaim, shaking my head as he turns to face me, angst running through his turmoil filled eyes.

"Remember your college break-up? I sabotaged the Gotehe deal Brett. You should have heard me Savannah, telling him his own project would fail, his only chance to make a good name for himself. I may have added something about firing him too."

"You bastard!" I snap.

"I knew he'd get in the car and come to the office." George smirks and I watch as Brett's face falls, him immediately back there, reliving his worst mistake. Grabbing onto his hand I squeeze it reassuringly, both of us recalling the horrific event.

"And he did..." I trail off, my eyes falling on George with disbelief as realization fills me. Brett would never have crashed if it wasn't for... "Oh no, you didn't..."

"I did!" George admits, "I hired someone to crash into him. I knew that it would be your breaking point Savannah."

"What?" Brett breathes out, his eyes focused on the floor, wide and unblinking, face clearing of any emotion as he sinks down onto the couch, pulling me with him. He's breaking apart in front of me and I can't stop it.

"You could have killed your own son!" I exclaim and George nods. I suppose that never really mattered, that much is now clear.

"It was a risk I had to take to protect our family's secret. You threaten everything."

"You're sick!" I spit at him and George finally has the decency to look somewhat apologetic.

"Maybe."

"I can't believe this..." I breathe out, my hand linked with Brett's, promising myself that I'll never let go. I can tell by the look on Brett's face that he's heading down a dangerous rabbit hole of emotional detachment. "You'd put your own son in danger?" I shake my head as George nods, looking somewhat pained. "What kind of mons..."

"The fire at the apartment?" Brett mutters from beside me, his voice hoarse, eyes still on the ground.

"Yes." George instantly admits, and I suck in a sharp breath, "Brett wasn't supposed to be there. My intel wasn't up to date and I didn't know you were back together."

"Are you serious?" I scoff, standing up, Brett not fast enough to stop me, "You are disgusting!"

"You're right." George admits as Brett stands up beside me, "But if you're going to blame anyone, blame Olivia!"

"We're done here." Brett snarls, grabbing hold of me and making a move towards the doorway. George is faster, a gunshot echoing around the room, both of us freezing in place.

"We're done when I say we're done!" George snaps as my eyes stare at the bullet hole in the wall above Brett's head, Brett clutching me to his side, "And I'm not leaving until there are two dead bodies."

"She's having your grandchild." Brett yells, "You don't give a shit, do you?"

"Absolutely not!" George scoffs, "You think I didn't know she was pregnant when I set that fire?"

"You knew?"

"You belong in a mental asylum." Brett sneers before quickly shoving me towards the door, out of his arms. Grabbing onto the door frame I stop myself from falling and turn in time to see Brett pull our huge wooden bookcase from the wall, letting it collapse on top of his Father.

Turning away he runs towards me, grabbing hold of my arm and pulling me behind him, straight for the front door. Grabbing onto the handle Brett yanks at it, dismay flooding through me at the realization that it's locked. Looking around manically, the key is nowhere to be seen, probably buried in the bottom of George's pocket.

Cursing, Brett grabs me once more, shooting a look back at the living room before pulling me into the kitchen, heading straight for the knife block and grabbing one, pulling me behind him just as George enters. I grab onto the fabric of his shirt as we slowly back towards the other door, both of our eyes fixed on the damn gun.

"Olivia used to drink a lot." George announces, clearly adamant that he's finishing his story, "Apparently it was to cope with being around me." He scoffs. We're at the edge of the room and Brett quickly pushes me into the dining room, both of us making our way around the bulky table, the room not decorated to accommodate an easy escape.

The gun sounds out again and I swear the bullet whooshes past us before it embeds itself in the door frame, both of us stopping dead, Brett's chest pressed against my back, his hand coming around and resting on my stomach.

"We used to argue constantly." George continues, his voice calm, as if we're engaged in a casual chat. "One night I asked her to pick me up from a bar."

As subtly as possible Brett's hand moves away from my stomach and into the pocket of his pants, producing a second phone. I'd almost forgotten about the ridiculous extravagance of my boyfriend, but right now I couldn't be more relieved. With immense difficulty he pulls up his messages with Ellis and asks him to call 911.

"She was drunk as anything, screaming down the phone that she'd never pick me up." George rants as Brett slides the phone back into his pocket, pressing a gentle, reassuring kiss to the back of my head, "I told her that if she didn't I'd cart her kids off to a European private school."

"Baby," Brett whispers in my ear.

"She wouldn't stop crying, but I gave the ultimatum and hung up." George continues his story, my ears hearing every word, tears silently falling down my face. All these years I thought I wanted to know what happened to my parents, I thought it would help me get closure.

I was wrong. Instead it's tearing me up from the inside out, breaking my heart into pieces.

"I've never seen her as drunk as she was when she showed up that night."

"I'm going to get us out of here," Brett whispers.

"She was slurring her words, falling over the wheel. She knocked into a trash can before even driving off."

"When I tell you to run, you do it okay?" Brett orders softly and I subtly nod, not sure whether I can even physically force my limbs into action.

"I saw the car way before Olivia but it was too late, we were heading straight for them."

"My parents?" I can't help but exclaim, wrenching away from Brett's chest and turning to face George.

"Yes." George nods, eyes focused on my broken expression. "As soon as we hit the tree Olivia slumped down. I moved her out of the way and took the drivers seat, throwing the beer cans out and driving away."

"You didn't even check to see if they were okay!" I cry out. My poor, kind parents, left to die on their own, whilst their two unsuspecting innocent children waited at home.

"The next day Olivia remembered nothing." George reveals and I feel my breath catch in my throat. Olivia doesn't know that she killed my parents. "I told her that she'd had a small accident with a tree which was why the car wasn't around. She was so ashamed that she'd driven, I've never seen her like that."

"That's why Billy drives her everywhere." Brett says with realization, both of us glancing towards each other, neither of us knowing what to do with all this information, both of us already traumatized.

"Yes." George confirms, "She hasn't driven since." He finishes, pausing for a moment before continuing, "But you always loved the car Brett, so she wanted to give it to you, and despite many arguments, I couldn't get her to forget the idea."

I keep my eyes on Brett as he subtly and slowly reaches for the switch on the wall, nodding slightly at me. Within seconds we are plunged into darkness and I feel him grab hold of my waist, shoving me out of the door and into his office.

"Sav!" He yells, "Go!" I force myself to move forward, stumbling slightly in the pitch black, heading straight towards the other end of the house.

"Brett!" I call out behind me in desperation. We're in this together.

"I'm here!" He grabs onto my hand as we reach the garage door, gunshots starting to sound out behind us as we throw ourselves inside. Brett smashes his hand against the button to open the door before grabbing onto my hand as we run out, heading straight down towards the street. As we reach the end of the driveway I can't help but glance back, horror filling me once more as George emerges from the garage, shoving new bullets into his gun.

"Brett!" I exclaim fearfully and he glances back, jaw tensing at the sight.

"Keep running baby!" Brett orders, tugging me along as we head for the road. "Go!" He yells as we continue, shots sounding out around us, Brett pulling me closer towards him as we step up onto the sidewalk.

Looking behind us once more I see George step into the road, raising his gun, continuing to walk towards us as Brett attempts to drag me into the woodland on the other side of the road.

I stare directly down the barrel as I stumble in the direction Brett pulls me, unable to tear my eyes away, knowing that George isn't going to miss this time.

Turning to face Brett I take in every feature, his gorgeous blue eyes, his chiseled jawline, the incredible brown hair.

This, everything that George has done, it's all been worth it to spend time with Brett. I only wish I could have given him a beautiful baby before this happened.

A sudden loud crash sounds from behind us and we stop, both whirling around in time to see George roll off the hood of a blue car as it screeches to a stop, his gun plummeting to the ground beside him as he falls, motionless, onto the floor.

Becky and Ellis soon emerge from the car, relief flooding through me at the sight of our friends, both Brett and I cautiously stepping back towards the road.

"Holy fuck!" Becky exclaims, despair in her eyes as she looks at the road, "I just..." She trails off as she takes in my appearance, "Savannah?"

"What the hell is happening?" Ellis snaps, walking around the car and gathering the shaking Becky into his arms.

"My Dad just tried to kill us." Brett answers, his voice void of emotion as he looks down at the lifeless man.

"Shit." Ellis exclaims, "I thought you had a petty burglary or something. I called the cops like you asked man."

"Thanks." Brett replies before turning to face me, grabbing onto my arms and tilting my face up to his, "Baby?" He asks, searching my eyes as he tries to judge my emotion. I can't even judge them myself. I feel numb. "It's okay."

"You... He..."

"I know." He says, crushing me against his body, "I know."

"Did I just kill someone?" Becky exclaims, her eyes fixed on George, grimacing as panic fills her eyes.

"Bec..."

"Oh my god!" She wails, hands coming up to cover her mouth as Ellis attempts to soothe her. A sudden wailing of sirens in the distance has me instantly relaxing in Brett's arms, the cars appearing down the street within seconds, coming to a stop just a short way from us.

"It's over." Brett says against my hair, kissing my head as I shut my eyes, "We're safe."

I look over at the cops as they begin to make their way towards us, a small smile playing on my lips. We're safe.

A sudden gunshot sounds and I feel my body being catapulted towards Brett from the force of it. Another shot is fired as the cops spring into action, Brett grabbing hold of me, his eyes wide with panic as I slowly sink down towards the ground, his arms wrapping around me as he falls with me.

"Sav!" Brett exclaims, eyes full of fear as I smile up at him.

I guess George wasn't dead after all.

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So... did y'all predict that? I know some people had an idea in their heads of what happened, but hopefully I have blown your minds with the extra details!

Lots of love to you all 💙

P.S. There are only 5 chapters left BUT Becky's story 'Perseverance' is available on my profile for you to add to your library!

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