They ran.
Through brambles. Through dirt. Through shadows thick with memories.
Ella's lungs screamed. Her shoes soaked in blood—she didn't know whose.
Ryan didn't stop. He didn't blink. He held her hand like it was the only anchor he had left.
Gunshots echoed behind them. Someone was yelling. A man. Maybe two. Maybe more.
"I thought you said this place was safe!" Ella hissed as they ducked beneath a low-hanging branch.
"It was," Ryan grunted. "Until my father tracked us."
They stumbled into a clearing. A small hut stood at the edge of a dried-up riverbed. Rusted. Abandoned. Hidden.
Ryan kicked the door open.
"Inside."
*****
The Hut
The inside was dark, the air thick with mildew and rot. But for now, it was shelter.
Ryan pushed a chair against the door while Ella collapsed onto the floor, gasping.
She looked at him—sweat-slicked hair, blood-stained collar, lips swollen from the kiss they barely survived.
"You okay?" he asked, kneeling beside her.
She nodded weakly. "You?"
He smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I've been better."
There was silence—then the weight of everything crashed into her.
The file. The surveillance. Her name tagged for termination.
"Ryan," she whispered, "your father... why does he want me dead?"
Ryan looked away. "Because you know me. Because you see me. And because that makes me dangerous to him."
He pulled out the tablet again, now cracked but still working. He flipped through more files. Birth certificates. Property transfers. Even pictures of his mother with a man that wasn't Arthur.
Then—
A name.
Ella's hand froze on the screen. "Wait. That's my mom's name."
Ryan blinked. "What?"
She scrolled back. "There. Look. 'Lucia Martinez.'"
And beneath it:
> Confidential: Lucia Martinez – ex-employee, project handler, maternal connection: Ryan A. Saint-James.
Ella's mouth went dry.
She turned slowly to face him.
"No… no. That can't be right. That's not possible."
Ryan's face had gone pale.
"I don't understand," he breathed.
But Ella did.
She stood up, trembling. "Ryan. You and I... we share the same mother."
The silence cracked like glass.
"No," he said hoarsely, backing away. "That's insane."
"She worked for your father. She disappeared when I was five. I never knew what happened. And now—"
"No!" Ryan slammed his fist against the wall. "You're not my sister. We're not—we can't be."
She stared at him. "Then what the hell is that file?"
He collapsed into the dust, breathing hard. "If it's true… if we're half-siblings... then everything we've done—"
Ella shook her head violently. "No. I won't believe it. Not without proof."
"We need to find my uncle," Ryan said suddenly. "He knew things. Things about my mom. He warned me before he disappeared."
"But how—"
A loud crack cut her off.
Not a gunshot.
A voice.
"You're chasing ghosts, boy."
They turned.
A tall man stood in the doorway.
Thin. Worn. Tired.
Ryan gasped. "Uncle Leo?!"
Leo stepped inside, face grave. "I told you once not to dig too deep, kid. But you never listened."
****
Leo's Truth
They sat in a dim corner of the hut. Leo poured water from a jug hidden beneath the floorboards.
"I used to work for your father, Ryan. I helped build his empire. But when I found out what he was really doing—what he did to Evelyn, to Lucia—I ran."
"Lucia was my mother," Ella whispered.
Leo nodded. "And she was a good woman. She loved you. And yes… she was also Ryan's mother."
Ella's breath caught. "So it's true."
Ryan looked like the ground had vanished beneath him. "We're… blood."
"Half," Leo said. "Lucia left Arthur when she found out what he was planning. She took Ella and vanished. Changed her name. Arthur hunted her down years later."
Ella's voice cracked. "Did he kill her?"
Leo didn't answer.
Which was an answer all its own.
Ryan punched the wall, again and again, until Ella stopped him, tears streaming.
"I can't do this," he whispered. "I can't love you if you're—"
"Stop," she whispered, grabbing his face. "We didn't know. We had no idea. We can't undo what's already been done."
He stared at her. "But what if we're monsters now? What if he made us like this?"
Her hands slid down his face, trembling. "Then we burn the whole bloodline down."
Leo handed them both a small USB. "This… this will finish him. The last files. The last proof. But getting it to the authorities? That'll get you killed."
Ella looked at Ryan. Her voice was a whisper.
"Then let's die together."
****
Outside the Hut – Dusk
Footsteps.
Dozens.
They were surrounded.
Ryan took Ella's hand.
Leo handed him a pistol.
"You only get five shots."
Ryan cocked it. "One for each bastard I take with me."
The door burst open.
Light flooded in.
Men in suits. Guns raised.
And behind them, Arthur Saint-James.
Smiling.
"Son," he said, "you found her. Good. Now hand her over."
Ella stepped forward, chin high.
Ryan blocked her.
Arthur laughed. "Still playing hero, are we?"
Then—pop!
A single shot rang out.
Leo collapsed.
Blood.
Ella screamed.
Ryan fired. Once. Twice. Men dropped.
Chaos erupted.
Ella grabbed Leo's USB and bolted through the side door.
Ryan covered her, firing until he was empty.
"Run, Ella!" he roared. "RUN!"
She turned back once—just once—and saw Arthur holding Ryan by the throat.
But before she could move—
The hut exploded.
Flames. Screams. Smoke.
Then—
Nothing.