Jake's Choice

Jake Morrison's POV

As Jake drove through downtown Millbrook at night, the sound of sirens filled the air. Every building was lit up with red and blue lights that bounced off of them. There had been a big event.

Jake's phone went off. The screen showed Maya's number.

"Maya? Are you okay?"

Silence. Then I breathed heavily.

"Jake..." Maya's voice was weak and scared. "They found me." I'm hurt."

The line went dead.

Jake's heart beat. He pressed the gas pedal harder and raced toward the Millbrook Gazette building. Maya was in trouble, and it was probably because of what they'd found about Judge Brennan.

When Jake reached Maya's newspaper office, glass covered the walkway. Her window was completely broken. A fire escape ladder hung down from the second floor, bent and twisted like someone had fallen hard.

Dark red drops stained the metal steps. Blood.

"Maya!" Jake yelled up at the broken window.

No answer.

Jake climbed the fire escape carefully. More blood marked each step. At the top, he looked through the shattered window into Maya's office. The place looked like a war zone. Desks were flipped over. Papers spread everywhere. Filing boxes lay on their sides with drawers pulled out.

But Maya was gone.

Jake's phone buzzed with a text message: "Stop looking or she dies. - A friend"

Jake's hands shook. Someone had taken Maya. The same guys who poisoned his father. The same guys who framed Tommy and Danny.

Another text appeared: "Your father is getting worse. Better hurry to the hospital."

Jake felt torn in two. Maya needed help right now. But his father was dying. How could he choose between them?

Jake ran to his car and drove to Millbrook General Hospital as fast as he could. The parking lot was nearly empty. Most of the windows were dark. Only the emergency room glowed with bright lights.

Inside, Jake rushed to his father's room on the third floor. The halls smelled like cleaning supplies and sadness. His footsteps rang on the shiny floors.

When Jake reached room 312, he stopped. His father looked terrible. Thomas Morrison's face was gray and sweaty. Machines beeped around his bed. His breathing sounded rough and painful.

"Dad?" Jake whispered.

Thomas's eyes opened slowly. They looked foggy and confused.

"Jake... son..." His voice was barely a whisper. "I tried to... warn you..."

"Don't talk, Dad. Save your strength."

"No... listen..." Thomas grabbed Jake's hand with shocking force. "They know... you're getting close..."

"Who knows? Who are they?"

But Thomas's eyes rolled back. The heart monitor started beeping faster.

A nurse rushed in. She was young with kind eyes and curly red hair.

"Sir, you need to step back," she said. But instead of pushing Jake away, she moved closer and whispered, "Your father has been asking for something called 'the blue folder' all night. He keeps saying you'll know where to find it."

Jake frowned. "The blue folder? I don't know what that means."

The nurse looked around nervously. "He also said to tell you that 'the truth is hidden where you learned to climb.'"

"What?"

"I don't know what it means either. But he made me promise to tell you those exact words."

The heart monitor's noise slowed down. Thomas was asleep again, but his breathing seemed a little easier.

The nurse checked the IV bag hanging next to the bed. Her face went pale.

"This is wrong," she mumbled.

"What's wrong?"

"This medicine... your father isn't meant to get this. This could make him worse." She quickly switched the IV bag for a different one. "Someone gave him the wrong medicine. I need to report this."

"Wait," Jake said. "What if it wasn't an accident?"

The nurse stared at him. "You think someone is trying to hurt your father on purpose?"

Jake nodded. "Yes. And I think they took my friend Maya too."

The nurse's eyes widened. "What's your friend's name?" "Maya Chen. She runs the newspaper."

"Oh no. They brought her to the emergency room an hour ago. She had a bad cut on her arm and a head injury. But then some men in suits came and took her away. They said they were government agents."

Jake's blood turned cold. "What did these men look like?"

"One was tall with gray hair. Another was short and fat with mean eyes. They showed badges, but something felt wrong about them."

Jake recognized the description. Judge Brennan was tall with silver hair. Mayor Whitfield was short and heavy.

"Where did they take her?" "I don't know. They just said she was being moved for her safety."

Jake's mind raced. Maya was hurt and arrested. His father was being slowly poisoned. Tommy and Danny were still in jail facing charges for crimes they didn't commit.

And somewhere in this mess was a blue folder that might hold the proof they needed to stop everything.

Jake looked at his unconscious father. Thomas had spent his whole life fighting for fairness. Even now, dying in a hospital bed, he was trying to help Jake find the truth.

"Dad, I promise I'll find that blue box. And I'll save Maya. I won't let them win."

Jake squeezed his father's hand and turned to leave. But as he reached the door, he saw something white sticking out from under his father's pillow.

Jake pulled out a folded piece of paper. His name was written on it in his father's shaky handwriting.

With shaky fingers, Jake opened the note.

The words made his gut drop: "Jake - If you're reading this, I'm probably dead. The blue folder is real, but it's not what you think. I've been working with the FBI for five years. Agent Torres was my partner until they killed him three months ago. The real proof isn't in any folder - it's hidden in the place where you first learned what justice means. But son, you need to know the truth about your mother's death. It wasn't a mistake. They killed her too, just like they're killing me. And Maya isn't their prisoner - she's their bait. They want you to come looking for her. Don't trust anyone at the hospital. Even the nurses might be working for them. Get out now before - "

The note stopped there, as if someone had interrupted his father while writing it.

Jake's hands shook. His mother hadn't died in a car crash. She'd been killed.

Behind him, footsteps echoed in the hallway. Heavy boots. Multiple people heading toward his father's room.

Jake stuffed the note in his pocket and looked around frantically. There was nowhere to hide in the small room.

The footsteps stopped right outside the door.

"He's in there," a deep voice said. "Make it look like natural reasons. The boy knows too much."

Jake's heart hammered against his ribs. They weren't here for his father.

They were here for him.