Chapter 13: The Escape and the cost of Truth...

The carriage wheels thundered over the uneven cobble stones, jolting us violently with every sharp turn. Carter pushed the horses to their limit, snapping the reins with force.

"Faster" I shouted over the wind,my voice hoarse with panic.

Lillian clung to the seat beside me,her knuckles white. "They are gaining on us!"

I turned back,my heart hammering in my chest. Through the swilling dust, Thompson's men rode hard behind us, their horses kicking up dirt as they closed the distance. Three riders. Armed. Determined. And shooting.

A bullet whizzed past splintering the wood near my shoulder, I flinched gripping the ledger against my chest.

"Damn it!"Carter cursed."we were headed toward the city's out skirts, where the houses thinned and the roads opened into country side.But that meant less cover.

"We need a place to hide l"Lillian cried.

Carter swerved sharply, taking a narrow alley between two buildings.The carriage scraped against the brick walls, sending sparks frying.

Lillian screamed.

The horses reared but kept going.

The alley way was too tight- Thompson's men hesitated at the entrance, momentarily losing ground.

It wasn't much, but it was enough.

We burst onto another street, Carter veered left, guiding the horses toward the edge of town, where the dark country side stretched into the unknown.

But Thompson's men were relentless one of them broke away from the other, spurring his horse forward.

He leapt from his saddle onto the back of our carriage, his boots slamming against the wooden frame.

Lillian gasped.

I spun, reaching for anything to fight with, but he was too fast.He grabbed the side of the carriage, swinging toward me with a dagger in hand.

He lunged.

I threw up my arm- the blade slashed my sleeve, cutting skin.pain flared, but I shoved back with all my strength.

"Everly" Lillian cried.

Carter drew his gun from the driver's seat and fired.

The bullet hit the man in the chest.

His eyes went wide. He choked on a gasp. And then-he tumbled backward, disappearing into the night.

One down, Two left.

But we were running out of time.

Minutes later, we reached the river. Carter pulled the horses to a sharp stop beneath an old wooden bridge, the structure casting long shadows in the moonlight.

"We can't keep running," he panted. "We need a plan."

Lillian jumped down,her body still shaking"Do we even have one.?"

I pressed my hand to my bleeding arm, ignoring the sting.The ledger was still clutched in my grasp, and with it, the proof of Thompson's crime's.

Carter watch the road." They'll find us soon,we need to disappear."

My thought raced. We couldn't go home. Not while Thompson Knew we had the ledger.

Then it hit me.

"There's an old smuggler's tunnel", I said

"By the river bank."

Carter snapped his gaze to me."you're sure?"

"Yes I nodded."Daniel once mentioned it-a hidden passage that leads beneath the city.if we can get inside, we can lose them."

Lillian hesitated."and if it's blocked?"

"We take our chances,"I said

The entrance to the tunnel was exactly where Daniel had describe-hidden beneath a tarigle of roots along the rivers edge.

Carter pulled away the Vines, revealing a narrow opening of stone.

"It'll be tight,"he muttered,"But it'll do."

I slipped inside first, the cool air thick with the scent of damp earth.The Walls were rough stone, the tunnel barely wide enough for us to move single file.

Lillian followed next, Then Carter, dragging the Vines back into place behind him.

Darkness swallowed us.

I pressed my hand to the tunnel Wall, feeling my way forward.

"We'll need light."Carter whispered."no"I said quickly."They might see it from the entrance."

We moved carefully, blindly, relying on memory and touch.The tunnel twisted and turned.leading us deeper underground. water dripped somewhere ahead, the sound echoring off the stone.

Then-voices,

From the entrance

"They're here, Lillian breathed.

Carter tensed."keep moving,"

Footsteps scuffed against stone.

Thompson's men were searching for us close.To close.

I pressed myself against the wall, trying to steady my breath.

A shadow fell across the tunnels entrance.

My grip tightened on the ledger.

Then-the sound of gunfire.

But not at us.

Outside.

Shouts rang out, followed by the clash of metal on metal.

I froze.

"Someone else is fighting them,"Carter whispered.

Lillian's brow knit together."who?"I didn't know.And right now. I didn't care.

"Let's go,"I urged.

The tunnel finally opened into a forgotten cellar-dust-covered barrels stacked against crumbling brick.A single lantern shadows.

Carter stepped forward first, gun raised no one was inside.

Relief flooded me."we made it."

Lillian sank onto a barrel breathing hard.

"I thought we were dead."

I held the ledger to my chest.we had what we needed.Now,we just had to survive long enough to use it.

But Then- Carter expression darkened.

I followed his gaze toward the far side of the cellar.

A door stood partially open.

Someone was already here.

Before I could react, the door swung wide-And Ethan Thompson stepped inside.

My breath caught.

Carter raised his gun.But before he could fire -two more men appeared behind him ; guns already drawn Whitemore smirked. "Did you really think you could run forever"

Lillian went still. I felt her hand grip .my sleeve, fingers trembling l clenched my jaw."you won't get away with this".

Thompson chuckled. " I already have ". He stepped forward, slow deliberate. His eye flicked to the ledger in my grasp.

" Hand it over ", he said I didn't move.

His smile faded " I'll kill you where you stand."

The room was deathly slient.

My heart pounded. If I gave him the ledger , everything Daniel died for would be lost.

But if I refused...

I swallowed.

Then - Carter moved.

Not to fight.

But to step aside.

And in that moment, I realized- he wasn't on my side anymore.

I stared at him , my stomach twisting" Carter....?"

His jaw clenched. He wouldn't meet my Thompson smirked. "Did you really think you could trust him?"

Betrayal sank Into my bones like ice .

Carter had led us here.

Right into Thompson's hand.