I Told You To Run But You Didn't (Georgia) novel Chapter 50

Chapter 50

料金:83%

Finished

Georgia’s POV

I ran. I didn’t know where I was going, but I ran. Out of the mansion gates, down the long, tree-lined street,

away

from Lucas’s desperate, possessive grasp. My lung burned, my head throbbed, but I kept going until the manicured lawns gave way to the indifferent grey of the city streets.

I slowed to a walk, catching my breath, trying to get my bearings. That’s when I checked my phone. Dozens of missed calls. Harvey. Harvey. Harvey. Estevan. My blood ran cold. Damn it. They knew I was gone.

A wave of despair washed over me. I couldn’t go back. Not after what Zane said. But where could I go? Patricia was the only option, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t drug her into this mess, into the crossfire between Estevan and whatever shadowy organization Zane worked for. This was my fight. My burden.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Think, Georgia. Hotel? New city? Disappear?

My phone rang again, shattering the fragile calm. Estevan.

I stared at the screen, my thumb hovering over the decline button. But I knew it was useless. He wouldn’t stop, so I answered, “I’m done. I don’t want to work for you anymore. Whatever deal we had, whatever you think is between us, it’s over.”

His voice wasn’t angry. It was worse. It was cold, straight forward, and utterly devoid of emotion. “Did you really think it was that simple, Georgia? That you could just walk away?” Then he paused. “You can’t.”

“Watch me,” I shot back.

“Oh, I am watching you,” he said, and the words sent a chill down my spine. “And while you were running, the consequences of your little act of mercy were unfolding. Your brother’s organization didn’t waste any time. Coordinated attacks on three of my safe houses. Twelve of my men are hospitalized. And my main pharmaceutical facility? It was bombed an hour ago. Preliminary damage assessment is approaching nine figures.”

He let the weight of the destruction sink in. “All because you couldn’t leave well enough alone. Because set a timer.”

His accusation and the cost of my decision snapped something inside me.

“Maybe it’s karma!” I screamed into the phone, tears blurring my vision. “Maybe it’s payback for what you did! Zane told me everything! He told me how you killed our parents! How you threw a grenade into their car in Colombia!”

The line was silent for a beat, a heavy, dangerous stillness.

Then, his voice came back, soft, almost gentle, but with chilling, manipulative pity.

“And you believed him?” he asked quietly. “You really believed the desperate lies of a man who put a gun to your head and pulled the trigger?”

I took a shaky breath, “Who else am I supposed to believe, Estevan?!” I shot back, “You?! The man who lied to me from the start? The man who uses people like pawns?”

I was about to slam the ‘end call’ button, to cut him off, o just run, when his voice, low and grim as the grave, stopped me,

川

O

1/3

11:46 Sat, Mar 7 A MO

Chapter 50

83%

9 Finished,

“You had your chance to run, Georgia,” he said softly. “Remember? I gave you ten seconds. A lifetime. You chose to stay.” The softness vanished, replaced by the chilling finality of a judge passing sentence. “You don’t get to choose again. You don’t get to walk away now, not after what you did. You betrayed me. You set him free.”

His voice dropped even lower, a possessive, terrifying promise. “So run all you want. Hide wherever you think you’ll be safe. But understand this: There is nowhere on this earth you can go where I won’t find you. And when I do,” he paused, letting the threat sink into my bones, “you will pay for this betrayal.”

The line went dead. He hung up on me.

Oh, fuck. He wasn’t just angry about the money or the attacks. He was angry about me. About my defiance. About my choice.

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. I just needed to move. I hailed a taxi, my hands shaking. “The city crematorium,” I told the driver, my voice barely a whisper.

I walked into the quiet, hushed parlor, the place where Estevan had first seen me, a lifetime ago. I signed the release forms, and they handed me the two heavy, simple urns containing my parents’ ashes. Holding them felt like holding the only solid, true things left in my chaotic world.

“Veritas City,” I told the taxi driver, giving him the name of my hometown, a place I hadn’t seen in years. “Please, drive as fast as you can.”

As the city began to shrink behind us, my phone started ringing. Estevan. I declined. It rang again. Lucas. Declined. Estevan. Lucas. Estevan.

With a final, weary sigh that felt like it came from the depths of my soul, I opened my contacts, found their names, and hit ‘Block!

Fuck it. I leaned my head against the cool window, clutching the urns to my chest. I hate my life.

It was already dark when the taxi finally dropped me off near Veritas City. My hometown. I was starving and tired from running. The air smelled like pine trees, not like the city.

I needed food. I saw the bakery – Panadería del Sol. Mom and Dad used to take me there after school. My stomach wanted real food, but the smell of fresh bread pulled me in. It smelled like home.

Inside, it was warm and sweet. I bought hot coffee and a loaf of bread, still warm. It felt like holding onto something real. I paid with cash and went back outside.

Now, the long walk up the mountain to our old house. Its been empty for seven years. Since everything went wrong. I didn’t know what I’d find. Maybe just broken walls and ghosts.

But when I got close, I saw lights! The house looked… okay. Someone was taking care of it. An old woman was sweeping the porch steps.

Louiella.

She looked older; her hair was white now, but it was her. She looked up when she heard me. She squinted. Then her eyes got huge.

“Georgia?” she whispered, like she couldn’t believe it. “Georgia? Is that really you?”

It was hard to talk. “Yes, Louiella,” I choked out. “It’s me

川

O

2/3

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