Chapter Eleven :
Chapter Title: Wanting To Disappear y
The words hung in the air, no one spoke.
For a moment, it was as though the entire room had forgotten how to breathe.
Bryan was the first to recover.
He looked at Natasha, his brows knitting together. "Explain."
Natasha didn't answer immediately. She walked toward the blueprint spread across the table, her fingers tracing the outline of the institution.
"The General Director's inspection attracts everyone," she said quietly. " Doctors, guards, administrators and even the police are put on standby in case of an emergency."
Damien's gaze sharpened. "Go on."
"If an explosion happens during the inspection..." she continued, " their first priority won't be chasing a fugitive. It'll be containing the disaster."
One of the squadron leaders frowned.
"That only creates chaos."
"It creates opportunity," Bryan corrected.
Natasha gave a small nod. "Exactly."
She pointed to one corner of the blueprint.
"This garden is scheduled to receive fresh flower arrangements for the inspection. No one questions flowers. They'll be delivered, unpacked, and displayed throughout the institution."
"The chemicals..." Damien murmured.
"...will already be inside," Natasha finished.
The room fell silent again as everyone began fitting the pieces together.
One of the officers folded his arms.
"Even if the explosion succeeds, they'll still search the ruins."
"They'll count the bodies," another added. "If Annalisa's body isn't there, the entire plan falls apart."
Natasha lowered her eyes."I know."
Another officer shook his head.
"So what's the answer? A mannequin? Burned remains from the morgue?"
He scoffed.
"The investigators aren't fools. They'll know."
No one disagreed. Although the plan was brilliant, it still had one fatal flaw.
The room grew quiet once more.
Natasha stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the blueprint.
She seemed to be gathering the courage to say something.
Damien noticed.
"So...what aren't you telling us?"
Natasha slowly looked up.
Her eyes searched the room before finally settling on Samuel.
He smiled at her it was a small smile.
The kind only a husband would give his wife.
She smiled back I was gentle and almost apologetic.
Samuel's smile faded.
Something about the way she looked at him made his heart sink.
Then Natasha took a slow breath.
"There is one way."
Everyone looked at her.
"If the investigators need a body..."
"...then we'll give them one."
Bryan frowned.
"What are you saying?"
But one Damian questioned " if boss was present during the explosion the espace although might be successful but still a slightly difficult".
Natasha met his gaze without wavering.
"That where we need a decoy and I'll be the decoy."
Silence.
Real silence.
The kind that pressed against the walls.
Samuel stared at her.
He thought he'd misheard.
"...Nat."
She turned toward him.
"When the explosion happens..."
"...the body they identify as Annalisa Laurel..."
She smiled softly.
"...will be mine."The words struck the room like a bolt of lightning.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Even the air seemed to grow heavy.
Samuel stared at Natasha, waiting for her to smile... to tell everyone it was a joke.
She didn't.
Instead, she met his gaze with heartbreaking calm.
"...No."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
Natasha didn't answer.
Samuel took a step toward her.
"No."
This time his voice was louder.
His composure finally cracked.
"I said no."
The chair behind him scraped violently across the floor as he pushed it aside. In three quick strides, he was standing in front of her.
"You've lost your mind."
His breathing had become uneven.
"There has to be another way."
"There isn't," Natasha replied softly.
"There is!" he snapped. "We've got some of the best minds in Black Dragon sitting in this room. You're telling me none of us can come up with another plan?"
No one answered.
Not because they didn't want to...
Because they couldn't.
Samuel looked from one face to another.
Damien.
Bryan.
The squadron leaders.
Every one of them remained silent.
His heart sank.
"You've all known..."
His voice trembled.
"...haven't you?"
Bryan was the first to speak.
"We considered every possibility."
"And?"
"There wasn't one."
Samuel laughed.
A short, bitter laugh.
"So this is it?"
He looked back at Natasha.
"You all sit here discussing my wife's death as if it's another mission?"
"Samuel."
Damien's voice was calm.
"This meeting isn't about deciding who dies."
"It's about giving Annalisa a chance to live."
Samuel turned sharply.
"And it has to be Natasha?"
"No," Damien answered honestly.
"It doesn't."
Hope flickered across Samuel's face.
Damien continued.
"It has to be someone."
The hope disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Silence settled over the room once again.
Natasha reached for Samuel's hand.
His fingers were cold.
She held them gently, as though trying to warm them one last time.
"Look at me."
He refused.
"Samuel."
Slowly...
He lifted his head.
Her smile was the same one he'd fallen in love with years ago.
Gentle.
Steady.
Unafraid.
"I'm tired."
The words were simple.
But they stole every ounce of strength from him.
"The doctors have already told us what comes next."
She raised her free hand and rested it lightly against his cheek.
"I don't want my last days to be spent waiting for death to find me."
A tear escaped the corner of Samuel's eye.
"I want to choose how my story ends."
She smiled again.
"And if my ending can become Annalisa's beginning..."
"...then I have no regrets."
Samuel closed his eyes.
His shoulders trembled.
For the first time since entering the room...
Chapter Eleven :
Chapter Title:
The words hung in the air, no one spoke.
For a moment, it was as though the entire room had forgotten how to breathe.
Bryan was the first to recover.
He looked at Natasha, his brows knitting together. "Explain."
Natasha didn't answer immediately. She walked toward the blueprint spread across the table, her fingers tracing the outline of the institution.
"The General Director's inspection attracts everyone," she said quietly. "Doctors, guards, administrators and even the police are put on standby in case of an emergency."
Damien's gaze sharpened. "Go on."
"If an explosion happens during the inspection..." she continued, " their first priority won't be chasing a fugitive. It'll be containing the disaster."
One of the squadron leaders frowned.
"That only creates chaos."
"It creates opportunity," Bryan corrected.
Natasha gave a small nod. "Exactly."
She pointed to one corner of the blueprint.
"This garden is scheduled to receive fresh flower arrangements for the inspection. No one questions flowers. They'll be delivered, unpacked, and displayed throughout the institution."
"The chemicals..." Damien murmured.
"...will already be inside," Natasha finished.
The room fell silent again as everyone began fitting the pieces together.
One of the officers folded his arms.
"Even if the explosion succeeds, they'll still search the ruins."
"They'll count the bodies," another added. "If Annalisa's body isn't there, the entire plan falls apart."
Natasha lowered her eyes."I know."
Another officer shook his head.
"So what's the answer? A mannequin? Burned remains from the morgue?"
He scoffed.
"The investigators aren't fools. They'll know."
No one disagreed. The plan was brilliant. But it still had one fatal flaw.
The room grew quiet once more.
Natasha stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the blueprint.
She seemed to be gathering the courage to say something.
Damien noticed.
"So...what aren't you telling us?"
Natasha slowly looked up.
Her eyes searched the room before finally settling on Samuel.
He smiled at her. It was small—quiet, reassuring. The kind of smile only a husband could give his wife.
Natasha smiled back. Her smile was gentle... almost apologetic.
Samuel's smile faded, something about the way she looked at him made his heart sink.
Then Natasha took a slow breath.
"There is one way."
Everyone looked at her.
"If the investigators need a body..."
"...then we'll give them one."
Bryan frowned.
"What are you saying?"
One of the squadron leaders frowned.
"Even if the explosion succeeds, there's still one problem."
Damien looked at him. "Speak."
"If Lady Annalisa is inside when it happens, escaping will become much more difficult. The explosion creates an opportunity... but it also traps her inside".
Natasha met his gaze without wavering.
"That's why we need a decoy."
She met every pair of eyes in the room before finishing quietly
Silence fell, the kind that pressed against the walls.
Samuel stared at her.
He thought he'd misheard.
"...Nat."
She turned toward him.
"When the explosion happens..."
"...the body they identify as Annalisa Laurel..."
She smiled softly.
"...will be mine."The words struck the room like a bolt of lightning.
No one moved and no one spoke.
Even the air seemed to grow heavy.
Samuel stared at Natasha, waiting for her to smile... to tell everyone it was a joke.
She didn't.
Instead, she met his gaze with heartbreaking calm.
"...No."His voice was barely above a whisper.
Natasha didn't answer.
Samuel took a step toward her.
"No."
This time his voice was louder.
His composure finally cracked.
"I said no."
The chair behind him scraped violently across the floor as he pushed it aside. In three quick strides, he was standing in front of her.
"You've lost your mind." As he spoke, his breathing grew ragged.
"There has to be another way."
"There isn't," Natasha replied softly.
"There is!" he snapped. "We've got some of the best minds in Black Dragon sitting in this room. You're telling me none of us can come up with another plan?"
No one answered.
Not because they didn't want to...
Because they couldn't.
Samuel looked from one face to another.
Damien.
Bryan.
The squadron leaders.
Every one of them remained silent.
His heart sank.
"You've all known..."
His voice trembled.
"...haven't you?"
Bryan was the first to speak.
"We considered every possibility."
"And?"
"There wasn't one."
Samuel laughed.
A short, bitter laugh.
"So this is it?"
He looked back at Natasha.
"You all sit here discussing my wife's death as if it's another mission?"
"Samuel."
Damien's voice was calm.
"This meeting isn't about deciding who dies."
"It's about giving Annalisa a chance to live."
Samuel turned sharply.
"And it has to be Natasha?"
"No," Damien answered honestly.
"It doesn't."
Hope flickered across Samuel's face.
Damien continued.
"It just has to be someone."
The hope disappeared as quickly as it had come.