Chapter 348

The room was thick with tension, suffocating me as I stood face to face with Mia. Our eyes locked in a battle of wills, the air heavy with the weight of the gun between us. Everything had spiraled out of control so quickly, and now, we were all on the precipice of disaster.

As Mia and I grappled for control of the weapon, Timothy rushed forward, a desperate attempt to intervene. But before he could reach us, a deafening shot rang out, freezing us all in place.

My heart hammered in my chest, fear coursing through my veins. I watched in horror as Mia seized the opportunity, snatching the gun from my grasp with a swift motion. She aimed it at both Timothy and me, her expression a mask of triumph and malice.

"Don't move," she spat, her voice dripping with venom.

I stood frozen, every fiber of my being screaming for escape. But there was no way out, no easy solution to the nightmare we found ourselves in.

Timothy's voice trembled as he pleaded with Mia, desperation evident in every word. "Please, Mia, you don't have to do this. Let us help you. We can find another way."

But Mia's eyes narrowed, her grip on the gun tightening. "You think I'm stupid?" she sneered. "I know exactly what I'm doing, and nothing you say will change that."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I begged Mia to reconsider, my voice trembling with fear. "Please, Mom, don't do this. We can find a way to stop all of this madness."

But Mia's resolve remained unshaken, her gaze cold and unforgiving. "It's too late for that," she said, her voice devoid of mercy. "I knew you were up to no good, so we made our vows right after I tucked you into bed."

A sense of disbelief washed over me as Mia flashed us with her new wedding ring. So she and Kamran had gotten married just hours ago, right before everything went to hell. It was surreal, unimaginable.

“What?” Timothy and I gasped in unison.

"It's true," Mia admitted, her voice strangely calm. "We got married tonight, sensing the urgency of the situation."

My mind reeled, struggling to process this new information. Everything felt like it was spinning out of control, slipping further and further beyond my grasp.

As the weight of the situation bore down on me, a fierce determination ignited within my heart. I may not be invisible to my mother’s threats, but I refused to let fear of her consume me.

Taking a deep breath, I met Mia's gaze head-on, my voice steady and resolute. "We need to stop this madness, Mom. If you have any common sense left, you’ll help us save Kamran and you can just walk away from all of this."

But Mia's eyes remained cold and unyielding, her grip on the gun unrelenting. "I'm sorry, Evie," she said, her voice heavy with regret. "But I won’t do that."

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly as we stood locked in our deadly dance. The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness, each heartbeat echoing in the silence of the room.

Outside, the world carried on, oblivious to the turmoil raging within these four walls. But inside, we were trapped in a nightmare of our own making, with no escape in sight.

I glanced at Timothy, his face pale and drawn with fear. His eyes met mine, silently pleading for a way out of this nightmare. But I had no answers to give him, no solutions to offer.

Mia's gaze remained fixed on us, her expression unreadable. In that moment, she seemed like a stranger to me, a twisted shadow of the woman I once knew.

"Please," I pleaded, my voice trembling with fear and desperation. "Put the gun down. We don't have to do this."

But Mia's lips curled into a cruel smirk, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Oh, Evie," she sneered, "don't you see? I have all the power now. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

My heart sank as Mia's words echoed in the stifling air. It was as if she had become a stranger, a twisted version of the person I once knew. But even as fear threatened to consume me, I refused to give up hope.

As Mia continued to taunt me, a faint sound caught my attention. The door creaked open, and my heart leaped with a sudden surge of hope. Andy stepped into the room, his eyes darting between Mia and me. I had to keep my mother distracted.

“You won’t get away with this!” I went on, hoping my shouts would keep her distracted.

Mia's laughter echoed off the walls, cold and cruel. "You think you can stop me, Evie?" she sneered, her voice dripping with contempt. "I have all the power now. Kamran is mine, and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it. You’ll all be under my thumb."

My hands trembled as I watched Mia, a sense of helplessness washing over me. How had everything gone so horribly wrong? And how could I possibly stop it from spiraling even further out of control?

Mia's attention was focused solely on me, her back turned to Andy as he inched closer, taking advantage of her distraction. I held my breath, praying that he would be able to disarm her without anyone getting hurt.

But as the floor creaked beneath Andy's weight, Mia whipped around, aiming the gun right at him. Panic surged through me, threatening to overwhelm my senses. We were running out of time, and I had no idea how to stop this from ending in tragedy.

Andy held up his hands in a placating gesture, his voice calm despite the danger. "Easy there, Mia," he said, his tone deceptively light. "I was just guiding the nice policemen to the ruckus they'd been hearing over a strange call."

The door swung open wider, revealing two police officers with their guns drawn. My heart leaped with hope as I watched them enter the room, their presence a welcome sight in the midst of chaos.

Mia's eyes narrowed as she turned to face the officers, a cunning smile playing at her lips. "Officers, thank goodness you're here," she said, her voice dripping with false sincerity. "This woman has been threatening the lives of me and my husband. I was just protecting us."

I opened my mouth to protest, but the officers were already taking charge, their expressions stern and unwavering. "Drop the weapon, ma'am," one of them said, his voice commanding. "We won't ask you again."

Enraged, Mia hesitated for a moment, her grip on the gun tightening. But the officers weren't bluffing, and she knew it. With a frustrated growl, she dropped the weapon to the ground, her eyes burning with fury.

Relief flooded through me as the officers took Mia into custody, leading her away in handcuffs. But as I watched her go, a sense of bitter sadness washed over me. How had it come to this?

As the paramedics rushed in to tend to Kamran, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. The nightmare was finally over, but the scars it had left behind would take much longer to heal.

As I was led away by the officers, I couldn't help but wonder what would become of us now.