Cole squeezed Elliana’s hand, completely overwhelmed by gratitude.

Sophie broke down in tears. “Thank you, Elliana,” she managed, her words choked with emotion. “Thank you for forgiving me and for staying by Cole’s side. I hope you both find all the happiness in the world… but you have to go now!”

Sophie begged them to get out while they still could. She knew that Maxine already had their daughter and that staying any longer would only make things worse. Her only wish was for Cole and Elliana to get out safely, even if she couldn’t escape herself.

Aubrie added urgently, “Exactly! Go! Sophie and I will look out for each other. You need to run now.”

Elliana and Cole both understood just how much was at stake, but they refused to abandon the two women.

Suddenly, Maxine’s voice crackled over the loudspeakers, cold and composed. “Elliana. Cole. Think carefully about your next move. Agree to leave your daughter behind, and I’ll release Sophie and Aubrie at once. Refuse, and they die here, right before your eyes.”

The threat had barely left her lips when the room filled with the unmistakable sound of gun safeties clicking off. A dozen weapons snapped into place, all aimed straight at Sophie and Aubrie.

Cole whirled around to face the camera, his fury blazing. “Maxine! Don’t you dare think I won’t tear this whole place apart and erase the Griffiths family from history!”

Maxine’s answer came without a hint of fear, her tone almost eerily steady compared to Cole’s outrage. “I never doubt you mean it,” she said. “With you and Elliana standing together, the Griffiths family would be facing real trouble. Maybe we’d wipe each other out in the end. But tell me, is that the outcome you’re really after?”

The last thing Elliana and Cole wanted was to go down in flames with Maxine. All they truly longed for was to take back their daughter, gather Sophie and Aubrie, and go home to spend the rest of their days in peace.

But peace, Elliana and Cole knew, was a fragile dream—one that could shatter at any moment. Now they stood cornered between two unbearable choices. They could yield to Maxine’s demands, hand over their daughter, and walk away with Sophie and Aubrie alive. Or they could refuse, watch Sophie and Aubrie die before their eyes, and then fight Maxine to the death. And in the latter scenario, even if they survived that final, blood-soaked battle, their daughter’s fate would hang in terrifying uncertainty.

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They were caught in a dilemma.

As indecision froze Elliana and Cole where they stood, a thunderous explosion tore through the air, shaking the cave to its core.

“What’s happening?” Maxine’s startled voice crackled over the surveillance speakers.

It wasn’t the Griffiths family’s doing. The blast had come from somewhere else—outside the mountain.

Elliana and Cole exchanged a sharp, knowing look. Could it be their allies?

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