Chapter 250/Love’s Final Barricade

Chapter 250: 250/Love’s Final Barricade

Chapter 250

Stephanie’s point of view

Alexander shifted his weight, turning his head back toward the corridor. Panic slammed into my chest. I leapt backward and bolted toward the dark room, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I fought to keep from losing my mind entirely.

I slammed my palm against the dark wall to steady my blinding dizziness, but my fingers collided with a heavy wall switch.

Instantly, blinding white overhead lights flooded the room.

I spun around, gasping. My eyes locked onto a pale, emaciated girl chained to the concrete wall, naked and entirely spent. She raised a heavy, iron-bound wrist and gripped my shoulder with terrifying strength.

"Ahhhhh!"

The scream tore from my lungs, vibrating off the stone foundation of the basement. I shoved the girl back in a frantic burst of terror and sprinted out of the room with everything I had left.

The sound of my scream shattered the hallway. Alexander and Cédric’s stunned voices thundered behind me.

"Stephanie! ... Stephanie, stop!"

I didn’t look back. I ran like a wild animal. My foot caught the first step of the stairs and I went down hard, my knee slamming viciously into the stone edge. Ignoring the hot burn of blood down my leg, I forced myself up and sprinted across the ground floor toward the massive front door.

I threw my weight against the latch and burst out into the cool night air. My trembling fingers fished the keys out of my bag as I threw open the car door and hurled myself into the driver’s seat.

Alexander and Cédric burst through the front entrance, half-naked, their faces twisted in absolute panic. I slammed the power locks down and shoved the key into the ignition.

Cédric reached the driver’s side window first, slamming his fists wildly against the glass, his voice cracking with desperation. "Stephanie! Please, open the door... You don’t understand!"

I slammed my foot onto the gas pedal. The tires shrieked against the gravel, tearing through the quiet night and leaving them standing in the dust.

Tears burned my eyes as I glanced into the rearview mirror. Both of them were sprinting toward their car, the engine roaring to life as they pulled out to chase me down. I pressed harder on the accelerator, driving recklessly into the dark, terror consuming my mind. How was I this blind? How did I sleep in the arms of these monsters?

My phone chimed from inside my bag, vibrating loudly against the center console. I pulled it out with stiff, trembling fingers. Alexander illuminated the screen. I rejected the call, jammed my foot flat against the gas, and pushed the car through the blackness of the twisting road.

Trees blurred on either side like distorted shadows. Panic clawed at my throat. I lifted my foot to hit the brakes, desperate to slow down the terrifying speed—

I pressed the pedal. Nothing happened.

I slammed my foot down again with all my weight... The pedal sank straight to the floorboard, entirely soft, offering zero resistance. My hands gripped the steering wheel in sheer terror as the heavy frame kept accelerating down the incline like an unleashed beast.

The phone rang again. I snatched it up and swiped accept, my voice hysterical.

"Stephanie! Please, pull over... Let me explain!"

"I saw everything, Alex!" I sobbed, my voice cracking as the car jolted violently over the uneven road.

"Just stop the car!"

I pumped the dead pedal repeatedly, weeping uncontrollably. "I can’t stop it! The brakes aren’t working... The brakes are gone!"

Silence dead-ended on the line for a fraction of a second before his voice came back, sharp and frantic. "What?!"

"I’m going to die!" I sobbed, clutching my lower belly with one trembling hand. "My babies... God, we’re going to die here!"

"Don’t panic... I’m going to save you. Trust me!"

I jerked the wheel left and right, narrowly missing the oncoming headlights of passing trucks as the engine screamed. The road spiraled downward into a dark bend, and Alexander’s voice cut through the speaker over the roar of the wind.

"Take the left fork! Right now!"

I spotted the dark turn between the bluffs and threw my weight into the wheel. The car slid violently onto the left path, settling onto a deserted, narrow stretch of road that dead-ended at the edge of a jagged cliff overlooking the black, open sea.

In my rearview mirror, blinding high beams cut through the dark. Their black sedan surged past me at a suicidal speed. I caught a glimpse of Alexander’s taut face through the open driver’s window, Cédric gripped in the passenger seat. They pulled ahead by a few yards, and before I could process their movement, Alexander threw the wheel, turning their car sideways across the narrow road to form a barricade just feet from the drop-off.

"No... NO!"

My eyes dilated. The front bumper of my car slammed directly into the side of theirs with a deafening, metal-crunching impact that shook the earth. White airbags deployed instantaneously, slamming into my face as thick grey smoke filled the cabin.

The relentless momentum of my heavy car kept pushing their sideways sedan, dragging it across the asphalt toward the rocky edge. My car shuddered and finally ground to a halt.

The second car didn’t.

Through the shattered windshield, I watched in paralyzed horror as their vehicle tipped over the edge. It hung in the air for a fraction of a second before plunging blindly off the cliff into the abyss below.

Time stopped. The world went dead quiet.

Alexander and Cédric... inside that car.

I threw my weight against the heavy driver’s door, stumbling out onto the dirt. My legs gave out, and I staggered like a blind woman toward the cliff’s edge. I collapsed to my knees, peering down into the abyss.

The dark ocean waters swallowed the metal frame of the car. White bubbles churned to the surface before the waves dragged everything beneath the dark surface.

I fell forward onto the cold gravel, my throat opening up in a raw, agonizing scream that tore through the night air.

"ALEEXXX! ... CÉÉÉÉDRIIIC!"