My Last Plea Was His Worst Mistake Chapter 02

My Last Plea Was His Worst Mistake Chapter 02

Once the east wing was sealed, a thick blanket of toxic smoke pressed down from the ceiling.

I spotted a narrow ventilation shaft set into the wall. It was far too small for an adult to squeeze through, but a small child could fit.

I pried open the metal grating with a warped metal shelf unit from the storage room; rust and fresh blood coated my palms.

The little boy refused to let go of me, his face streaked with snot and tears.

“I’m not leaving you, Luna.”

I unclasped the necklace Ethan had given me and slipped it over his neck. Its pendant was already blackened by ash and smoke.

He’d told me once, “Whenever you look at this pendant, think of me being right beside you.”

I guided the boy toward the shaft opening.

“Once you climb out, find the firefighters in their orange turnout gear. Tell them there are still people trapped down here.”

He continued sobbing. I cupped his cheeks and made him look directly at me.

“My name is Luna Moore. Promise you’ll remember that, okay?”

As I pried the grating fully open, two slow knocks tapped against the door from outside.

Slow and unrushed—like someone safe outside, watching the whole spectacle play out.

“Luna.”

It was Chloe.

I stumbled to the door, my voice raw and barely recognizable.

“Open this door! There’s a kid stuck inside with me!”

The faint jingle of tiny silver bells chimed from the other side of the door. It was the charm bracelet Ethan had gifted Chloe.

He’d said the gentle ringing would calm her easily frightened nature.

I’d asked him once what comfort I would have to ground me.

Ethan had only frowned in annoyance.

“Luna, quit keeping score between the two of us..”

The bell tinkled sharply through the burning building, a jarring, taunting sound.

Chloe pressed her mouth up to the door and drawled slowly.

“Whether that little boy makes it out alive all depends on how clever you are.”

I froze.

She let out a soft, mocking laugh.

“You’ve always been so obsessed with taking what’s mine. Let’s see who Ethan chooses to believe now—you, or me.”

Flames snaked through the door gaps, waves of searing heat forcing me to stumble backward.

“Chloe Bennett, you’re going to go to prison for this.”

“Good luck getting anyone to buy that story.”

Her footsteps retreated away from the door. She tossed one final line over her shoulder.

“Ethan himself gave the order to lock this wing down. If you die here, it’s his fault just as much as mine.”

I stopped shouting. Screaming would do nothing anymore.

I pushed the boy deep into the ventilation shaft and snapped the grating back into place. He wailed my name as he crawled away.

“Keep climbing. Don’t look back.”

My phone flickered on for one last time. I opened the video camera.

The lens was filled with roiling smoke, flames flickering erratically across the frame.

“Ethan…”

I barely got the name out before a brutal coughing fit doubled me over.

The matching promise ring I’d hand-designed for our seven-year anniversary was swollen tight around my finger, impossible to slip off.

Ethan had stopped wearing his band ages ago, claiming rings got in the way during emergency calls.

But I’d seen him peeled shrimp for her, tied her shoes, and dried her tears with tender care.

It was never about the job being inconvenient.

He simply no longer wanted to carry a symbol of our love.

I tried yanking the ring free, but my fingers were burned and numb. The ring was stuck fast in my burned, swollen finger tissue.

Ugly, I thought. I couldn’t even get rid of it, not even at the very end.

A ceiling pipe burst violently.

A wall of fire crashed down on top of me.

Right before I blacked out, a distant shout echoed from outside.

“We have a casualty on the east wing! Miss Bennett only has minor abrasions—evacuate her first!”

The next sound I registered was Ethan’s voice, cracked with desperate urgency.

“Chloe!”