He was still alive.

Eva was still sitting on the cold cement floor of the warehouse as the paramedics worked on getting David into the ambulance.

“Eva Lewis,” a commanding voice was coming towards her. Eva looked up to see Special Agent Sally Roux. She looked pissed, “You okay?”

Still in shock, Eva nodded.

“Good,” Sally said. She then gave Eva a hand to help her rise. It felt like deja vu to them both. “Now do you mind telling me what the hell you two were doing here?” she asked.

“Joelynn!” In her panic over David, Eva suddenly remembered Joelynn was still missing.

As if on cue, both Sally and Eva heard an FBI agent shout, “We have a body!”

Eva felt like somebody had punched her in the gut.

“She’s still alive,” another agent shouted.

Eva felt like one of those Bobo dolls that kept getting up after being hit. She wondered what would try and knock her down next. Eva saw two agents assisting Joelynn who was sobbing. An officer helped her get on a stretcher.

Eva ran towards Joelynn, “Joelynn are you okay?”

“Get away from me!” Joelynn screamed as Eva got near her. “Just get away from me!” She began crying and pleading with the officers and paramedics to keep Eva away from her.

Eva didn’t expect this reaction from Joelynn and she wasn’t sure what to do.

“I think it would be best if you didn’t ride along with her,” Sally advised. “Detective Wilson is already en route to the hospital, did you need a ride?”

Eva shook her head, “I have David’s car. His keys are in my pocket.” Eva was about to get the keys when she realized she was still holding the handkerchief she used to press against David’s chest. It had been a pale cornflower blue. Now it was a dark brownish red color.

“I’m going to need to take an official statement from you. I want you to talk to my partner before you go to the hospital. Okay?” Sally asked.

 Eva nodded blankly.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride?”

“I’m sure,” Eva said in a stronger voice. “I’ll go look for your partner.”

After she had given her summary of what had happened, Eva got into David’s car. She had left the car less than an hour ago but it felt like days. She still ha d the bloody handkerchief in her hand. She put it in the passenger’s seat.

~IN HIS CAR~

Tom was on his way to the hospital. He needed to see his doctor to help prescribe him new medication for the stomach pains he was feeling due to all the stress he was under. It was after hours but the doctor was willing to stay late. Being rich had its perks. He was pulling into the parking lot of the medical plaza that was connected to the main hospital. He looked through his rearview mirror. Nobody was following him. Earlier he had lost the two agents that had been tailing him since he had made bail. He looked at the old briefcase in the passenger’s seat. It took some effort, but he was going to get some answers. He drove into the hospital parking lot and was about to get out of his car when he saw Eva Lewis closing the door to a blue sedan.

Tom wondered why she was at the hospital. “Well, this should be interesting.”

~IN THE HOSPITAL~

Eva had just finished talking to a doctor about David’s condition. He wouldn’t be allowed visitors until he was stabilized. In the meantime, it looked like the detectives in his unit were taking turns staying at the hospital. Eva saw Detective Smith. He was limping.

“You okay?” Eva asked him.

He grimaced, “I’m fine. Just got into a bit of a tussle. You okay? I heard about what happened to you the past 24 hours.” Detective Smith was looking at her black eye.

“I’m fine,” Eva lied. He could probably tell she was lying because he gave her a look of disbelief.

“If you need anything, let me know,” he said.

Eva nodded and continued walking down the hospital corridor, passing patients, nurses, and doctors. She looked to her right, and could’ve sworn someone was watching her. A tingle went up her neck and she looked around again. There was no one.

Eva thought back to David’s declaration of love. David thought he was dying and his last words were to tell her that he loved her. She sighed. Most women would be touched by such a significant gesture. Not Eva. There were no feelings of tenderness, joy, or even gratitude towards his confession. She only felt one way.

Burdened.

She touched her locket as thoughts of her losing her parents filled her mind. She had almost lost Joelynn and David in the same night. She didn’t know if she could handle losing the people she cared most about. Not again. She walked back to where Detective James Smith was at.

“You back already?” he smiled.

Eva shook her head, “I’m going to check on Joelynn. You take care of him, okay?”

Maybe it was the tone in her voice or the look on her face, but Detective Smith asked, “Are you coming back?”

Eva gave him a weak noncommittal smile and turned her back on him to walk towards the elevators. She could hear Detective Smith calling after her but she continued forward.

Eva rode the elevator to the 7th floor where Joelynn was at. After speaking to Joelynn’s doctor, she found her cousin’s room and entered. Joelynn was sitting up in her bed. White gauze hid the shallow gashes that the Demon King had given her. Eva could also see red welts around her wrists from the rope that had been tied around them. She cautiously said, “Hi Joelynn. The doctor said you were all bandaged up and could probably leave soon.” Eva was worried about Joelynn, who was silently staring into space.

“Joelynn did you hear me?” Eva asked. “You can go home soon. If you want to stay here longer, I can talk to the doctor.”

Joelynn didn’t say a word.

“Joelynn?” Eva didn’t understand why she wasn’t responding. “Did you want me to take you home tonight?”

Finally, her cousin looked at her and said, “I’m moving out.”

“What?” Eva was taken aback.

“I’m going to stay with Jacob. He’s coming here to pick me up,” Joelynn said in a monotone voice.

“Why?” Eva didn’t want Joelynn to move out. She loved living with her cousin.

Joelynn laughed bitterly, “Do you know why he took me?”

Eva stayed quiet. She had a dreadful feeling that she already knew the answer to that question.

“Because of you Eva. He said that if I kept living with you, talking to you, caring about you…he would kill me.” Joelynn looked up at Eva with tear filled eyes.

“Oh no, Joelynn,” Eva whispered.

Silent tears fell from her eyes as Joelynn apologized, “I wish you never wrote those articles Eva. This never would have happened.”

“It’s going to be okay Joelynn. I’ll talk to agent Roux and we'll try to get officers to-”

Eva was cut off by Joeylnn, “No! I want to live Eva. I’m sorry…but I love myself more than I love you.” Now she was silently sobbing.

Eva was hurt. It felt like someone had thrown salt on an open wound, but she understood. “It’s okay,” Eva told Joelynn, “I understand.” Joelynn didn’t respond but continued to weep silently. Eva backed herself up to the door and quietly left. As she walked back towards the elevators, she ran into Jacob.

“Is Joelynn okay?” he asked.

Eva nodded. “She’ll be fine. She’s traumatized right now but-” It seemed that no one was going to let Eva speak tonight.

“Did she tell you that she’s moving in with me and my mom?” Jacob asked. When Eva nodded he went on, “I always thought you were a great writer but the truth is...you’re dangerous. It’s your fault Joelynn was hurt. That bastard killed my sister and he almost took my best friend.” It was clear he wanted to cry. “From now on, just stay away.”

“I’m sorry Jacob, but she’s all I have left. If I lose her, I’ll have nobody.” Eva said.

“That’s not true,” Jacob said. “You’ll have the Demon King.”

~MEANWHILE~

“Have you found McDaniels yet?” Sally Roux was on her cellphone still at the warehouse that David and Eva had been at earlier.

“What the hell have you been doing all night? Find his ass now!” Sally hung up the phone and walked over to her partner. “Well this is different.”

“Yeah,” Agent Ferguson said, “He doesn’t usually let his victims get away.”

“Exactly,” Sally looked around the abandoned warehouse, “Also, this isn’t the typical setting he uses. He had to bring a bed here.” Sally looked at the bed with the crown of flowers still on it. If the Demon King was behind this abduction, there had to have been a reason for him to change his MO. “No,” Sally thought, “Something definitely wasn’t right about this.”

~IN THE HOSPITAL’S PARKING LOT~

Eva was still trying to wrap her head around the night’s events. She walked to David’s car and got in. As she sat behind the steering wheel, she wondered why her life had gotten so complicated because of some articles she had written. It wasn’t fair. She placed her head on the steering wheel and sighed.

“Rough night?”

Eva was startled by the voice and looked behind her to see Tom McDaniels crouched in the backseat of David's car.

“What the hell are you doing back there?” Eva demanded to know.

“Calm down Eva, “Tom said, “I just wanted to talk to you. I saw you in the hospital and followed you until you left that detective. Then I snuck in this car.”

Eva picked up her phone to call the police.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Eva,” She could feel the barrel of a gun being pressed against her right side.

“Tom…” Eva said slowly, “I understand you’re having a tough time right now but-”

“Shut up and listen, Eva. I’ve been trying and trying to get your help but you don’t listen to me. I’m not the Demon King! I don’t know what I have to do to prove it.”

Eva gulped, “Well Tom…holding a gun up to me isn’t making me believe you right now.”

Tom became more upset, “You think I’m joking here?” He shoved the gun deeper into her side.

“I went to try and visit my dad tonight. I haven’t seen him in years but I thought maybe it was time for some father and son bonding time. He wasn’t at Open Heart. You wanna know something strange Eva?” When she didn’t respond, he went on, “I haven’t seen my dad in years but my father’s visitor’s log shows that someone visits him every time he checks himself into that place.”

Despite having a gun pressed into her side, Eva was intrigued.

“No name was given. He just signs in as his son. Now doesn’t that sound odd to you? As far as I know, I’m his only son other than Christopher. So that makes me think two things are possible. One: someone is pretending to be me. Why? I don’t know. The other possibility is that his other son really is visiting him.” Tom said.

Eva was confused, “But you just said your father didn’t have any other sons.”

“Exactly,” Tom responded.

“I don’t understand. Are you trying to say that Christopher is still alive?” Eva asked.

“I’m not saying it as a fact but who else would claim to be his son?”

A million things were going through her head which included David’s lies and her accusations that he was Christopher, Joelynn’s abduction, and Vincent’s stories about Tom who was now holding a gun to her.

 “I want you to find the other guy that was in the fire with Christopher. The one that survived. If I can get his DNA tested, then I’ll know for sure if he’s my brother or not. Maybe they switched places.”

Eva thought of David and the pressure he made her feel. She also thought of Joelynn being abducted and choosing to move in with Jacob. Other than her career, she really had nothing left to lose. “I don’t trust you,” Eva said.

“That’s okay. It’s probably best that you don’t,” Tom answered. “Haven’t you ever heard of the expression about getting into bed with the devil? I want you to get into bed with me. Help me solve this puzzle.” When she didn’t respond right away, he said, “It’ll be the story of a lifetime.”

That’s what got her.

She picked up the handkerchief that was in the passenger’s seat. “You’re still rich, right?”

“I may not be able to run my company anymore, but I still have money in the bank,” he said.

She tossed him the handkerchief and said, “Test this to see if the DNA is related to yours.” She wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing.

“Who does it belong to?” Tom asked.

“We’ll worry about that after the tests come back.” Eva said.

Tom nodded, “It’ll take me a few days.”

“Now that I’ve agreed to help you, do you mind putting your gun away?” Eva asked.

Tom laughed, “I still need you to get out of this car and step into mine.”

“Why?” Eva asked.

“We need to go to my place.” Tom answered.

“For what?” Eva asked. She was irritated that he was still threatening her with his gun.

“Did you forget already?” Tom asked. When she didn’t respond, he said, “You just agreed to get into bed with the devil.”