PART 2: He thought the bullet would kill him…
PART 2: He thought the bullet would kill him…
He thought the bullet would kill him…
but the truth waiting in the alley was far worse.
The night was calm—
too calm.
Soft piano drifted through the restaurant.
Glasses clinked.
People laughed.
Then—
everything broke.
The table flipped.
Glass exploded across the floor.
A gunshot tore through the room.
“Kill him!”
The command echoed—
cold—
final.
Carter staggered back.
His hand flew to his chest.
But not from the bullet.
Something else.
Something spreading.
Burning.
“…poison…”
The realization hit instantly.
Too late.
He moved.
Fast.
Desperate.
Through the chaos—
past screaming guests—
through the kitchen—
metal clanging—
heat rising—
and out—
into the alley.
Dark.
Narrow.
Silent.
His vision blurred.
Sound twisted.
The world slowed.
His heartbeat—
loud—
heavy—
wrong.
He collapsed onto the cold concrete.
Hard.
Air barely reaching his lungs.
Everything fading.
Then—
footsteps.
Soft.
Too soft for this kind of night.
The camera tilted.
Two girls.
Standing there.
Still.
Watching him.
Not afraid.
Not surprised.
Just… observing.
One of them stepped forward.
Knelt beside him.
Her small hand touched his neck.
“…he’s dying…”
Her voice trembled.
But not from fear.
From recognition.
The other leaned in.
Closer.
Eyes sharp.
Focused.
“No… he’s poisoned.”
Carter forced his eyes open.
Barely.
He saw them.
Children.
In a place they didn’t belong.
“…run…”
The word scraped out of him.
Weak.
Urgent.
Pointless.
They didn’t move.
Didn’t even flinch.
The first girl looked at the second.
Something shifting between them.
“Emma… this is the same compound…”
Silence dropped.
Deeper than before.
The second girl froze.
Then—
understood.
“…the one Grandfather uses.”
The words landed like a sentence.
Carter’s eyes widened.
Whatever strength he had left—
gone.
Because that name—
that connection—
meant only one thing.
This wasn’t an attack.
This was betrayal.
The camera pushed closer.
His face—
shock—
fear—
truth crashing in—
just before the darkness took him—
May you like
…and then—
black.