Countdown

LAUREN

“TEN”!”

Ginny’s voice echoed through the room.

I had just ten seconds to make a decision that would affect me for the rest of my life. I felt paralyzed by fear. I didn’t know what to do.

My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes, spilling over as I tried to blink them away. I couldn’t stop them. My heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces.

I looked between Mason and my father. The only men I ever cared for in my life, the only men that ever cared for me.

How was I meant to choose between them?

“It’s okay, Lauren,” Mason said as he gave me the faintest smile despite the gun pointed at him. “It’s going to be okay.”

“No, it’s not,” I sobbed, shaking my head. “This can’t be how it ends. It can’t.”

But Mason just held my gaze, his eyes steady and sure.

“I’ve accepted it,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You’ll be free after this. You and your father. You can still have a good life and that’s all that matters to me. My death will mean something if you live a good life, Lauren.”

“NINE!”

I choked on a sob, my heart breaking at how calm he was. How willing he was to let go, to leave me.

“How can you say that?” I whispered, my chest tightening with panic. “How can you just...”

“I want you to be happy, Lauren,” Mason interrupted gently, cutting through my despair. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted. You deserve a chance to live your life without all of this.”

I shook my head again, the tears coming faster now, unstoppable. I couldn’t breathe.

“EIGHT!”

“But I can’t—”

“You can,” he said firmly. “You will. You’ll get through this. You’re stronger than you think. So much stronger than you think.”

I could feel myself breaking, piece by piece, as Mason’s words hit me. He was trying to make this easier, trying to give me something to hold on to, but it only made it worse. Because he was right. After this, I would be free.

But it would be a life without him.

It was an impossible decision. I felt confusion, but the more I thought about it, the more that confusion and pain turned into anger. Anger at the woman who had set this all up in the first place.

The woman I had once thought of as my mother.

That’s when it hit me.

I'd been lying to myself for too long, for most of my life. I thought I had a mother, but the truth was I never did. Ginny has been the real monster in my life, using me for her own gain and not caring about me or anyone else in the process.

She is the one who has orchestrated the most pain in my life. Mason might have taken me away from my birth parents, but she was the one who abandoned me.

“SEVEN!”

I wiped at my eyes, the last of my tears drying on my cheeks as I turned toward Ginny. She stood there, that same smug look on her face, the gun still firmly in her grip. But as I looked at her now, really looked at her, something shifted inside me.

For so long, Ginny had been this looming figure in my life, a force I could never escape. I let her control me, let her tell me what was right and what was wrong. But now, in this moment, seeing her for who she really was, her cruelty, her selfishness, I saw through the mask.

"You’ve been doing this my whole life," I said, my voice trembling. "Haven’t you?"

Ginny arched a brow, feigning innocence.

"Doing what, darling?"

“Manipulating me,” I spat, my voice rising. “Lying to me, making me feel like I needed you. Like everything you did was for my own good.”

"Oh, Lauren, don’t be so dramatic. Everything I’ve done ~was~ for your own good. You’re better off for it."

I laughed again, an empty, bitter sound that echoed through the warehouse.

"Better off? You’ve ruined everything. You used me to get to Mason. You’ve controlled every part of my life. I was never free, not for one second, because you never let me be."

Ginny’s expression darkened, her eyes narrowing.

"Don’t be foolish, Lauren. I’ve given you everything. Without me, you wouldn’t have survived."

But I wasn’t buying it anymore. The fear she’d always instilled in me, the power she held over me, it all felt like a distant memory now.

I could see her for what she was. Pathetic. A woman so consumed by her own ambition, her need for control, that she’d destroyed everything in her path, even her own family.

“You’re pathetic,” I said, my voice steady, and the realization hit me like a wave. “You’ve always been pathetic.”

Her face twisted in anger, her control slipping for the first time.

“Don’t you dare—”

“No.” I cut her off, standing my ground. “I’m done. I’m done letting you twist me around your finger. You’re just a sad, broken woman who can’t stand the thought of not being in control.”

Ginny’s eyes flared with rage, but I didn’t care anymore. I wasn’t scared of her. Not anymore. She wasn’t the powerful figure I once thought she was. She was just... desperate.

"I don’t need you," I continued, my voice growing stronger. "And I never will again."

The truth of it settled in my chest like a weight lifting. For the first time, I was done with her. Done with the games, done with the manipulation. Ginny no longer had a hold on me.

Ginny looked at me, she seemed momentarily distracted and she stopped her countdown. I couldn’t tell if she was truly hurt or if I’d just bruised her ego.

“I was there for you when you cried, Lauren,” she said. “I tucked you in at night. I made your lunches and helped you with your homework. You can’t fully hate me.”

“No, you’re right about that Ginny. I can’t hate you.”

Ginny smirked at me. She looked like she thought she’d won, but she had no idea what was coming.

“I can’t hate you Ginny because you mean nothing to me. You’re not even worth my hatred,” I said, my voice cold as I watched her face turn pale. “Once this is over, I won’t even think of you at all.”

For a moment, Ginny was stunned. She still held the gun towards Mason, but I saw the brief flash of hesitancy in her eyes.

It didn’t last long.

“Well, Lauren, you’ve successfully managed to buy a few more seconds of life for your husband over here, but that’s all you’ve done,” she said “Now, where were we? Oh. One! Any last words?”

My eyes flashed to my father. He had come closer to me since Ginny pulled the gun, he stood at my side and reached for my hand.

“Dad,” I whispered, my voice cracking with emotion.

He smiled at me, a weary, broken smile, but one filled with the same love I had seen as a child.

“I love you, Lauren,” he said softly. His voice was rough, but it carried the immense weight of his care.

“I love you, too,” I whispered back.

Vincent’s fingers wrapped around mine, squeezing tight. His hand was rough and calloused, trembling slightly, but his grip was strong. There was no need for more words.

Mason reached for my other hand and the three of us stood together defiantly.

Ginny’s voice sliced through the moment like a blade.

“Touching,” she sneered, stepping forward.

She cocked the gun, the click echoing ominously in the silence. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt Vincent’s hand squeeze tighter around mine.

Mason leaned towards me and placed a kiss on my cheek.

“It’s all going to be okay,” he said. “It will all be over soon.”

I tried desperately to hold back my tears, I didn’t want to give Ginny the satisfaction of seeing them as she took away the man I loved. It was no use.

I turned towards Mason, taking in his beautiful features for one last time. His silver eyes shone with love and I saw no fear in them whatsoever.

He was ready to sacrifice himself.

“Ironic isn’t it,” he asked in a forced light-hearted tone. “That when we met, you had a gun pointed at your head, but now, as we say goodbye, I’ve got a gun pointed at mine.”

He offered me a smile and I did my best to return it. Even in this moment, he was trying to deflect the pain.

I took in one last breath, bracing myself for what was to come. I held tightly to Mason’s hand and my father’s.

We had no choice but to prepare for the worst, but for the first time, I wasn’t alone. Not really.

I felt a flash of movement by my side just as the sound of the gunshot exploded through the room.

I flinched, instinctively closing my eyes. The smell of gunpowder filled the air, and my stomach twisted into knots.

I didn’t dare look.