The air is too thick to breathe.
Dust floats through the abandoned office like drifting ash, settling on the edges of overturned desks and broken filing cabinets. The sound of footsteps below grows louder, heavier, more deliberate—like the building itself is reacting to every vibration.
I stand behind Jacob, my fingers intertwined with his. His grip is tight—not rough, but desperate, like he's anchoring himself to me.
"Stay close," he whispers without turning.
"I'm right here."
His shoulders rise and fall slowly… slower than they should. He's running out of strength. I can hear it in his breathing, see it in the tremor that runs through him every few seconds. The bullet wound hasn't stopped bleeding, and the exhaustion he's been hiding is finally catching up.
But he still stands between me and danger like a wall.Even now.Even half-broken.
Even dying.
Downstairs, a voice echoes:
"Jacob Hale! You can't run forever!"
My blood freezes.
Damian.
Jacob stiffens so hard I feel the jolt through his hand.
I whisper his name, "Jacob…"
His jaw tightens. "Don't be afraid."
"But you are."
He turns his head just enough for me to see his eyes—dark, furious, and terrified all at once.
"No," he says. "I'm afraid for you."
The footsteps begin climbing the stairwell.
Jacob pulls me back, pushing me gently toward the darkest corner of the room.
"If something happens—"
"It won't."
"Lily—"
"I'm not leaving you."
His throat works around a word he doesn't say. Something soft. Something dangerous. Something that would break him open.
He gently cups my face.
"If I tell you to run, you run."
I shake my head.
"If I fall, you go."
I grip his wrists.
"If you fall," I whisper, "I fall with you."
His breath catches—shallow, fragile, almost a gasp. Like the sentence hit him harder than a bullet.
Then—
The stairwell door SLAMS open.
Jacob shoves me behind him and steps forward, drawing someone else's gun he stole earlier.
Three men enter first.
And behind them…
Damian.
Tall, calm, confident—like he's already won. His suit is black, pressed, spotless, a stark contrast to the ruined building. His eyes land on Jacob, and a cold smile spreads across his lips.
"There you are," Damian says. "My favorite stray."
Jacob's voice drops into something lethal. "Don't touch her."
Damian lifts an eyebrow. "Her? So this is the girl you've ruined yourself over."
Something inside Jacob snaps.
"Move," he growls at Damian's men.
No one moves.
I can feel Jacob's pulse hammering through his hand.
"You're bleeding," Damian notes casually. "Sloppy. That's unlike you."
Jacob lifts the gun.A slight tremor in his arm.He's seconds from collapse.
Damian smirks. "Put the gun down before you embarrass yourself."
"Come closer and see how embarrassed I am."
Damian laughs softly. "Still protecting everyone but yourself. Some things never change."
Then his gaze slides past Jacob.
Lands on me.
His smile widens.
"You must be Lily."
Jacob steps sideways immediately, blocking me from view.
"Don't," he warns.
Damian chuckles. "Relax. I only want to know what makes you worth all this trouble."
Jacob raises the gun higher.
"Say her name again," he says quietly. "I dare you."
The tension is knife-sharp.
Damian sighs. "Jacob, you can barely stand."
Jacob doesn't deny it.
"You were always predictable," Damian continues, stepping forward. "You care too much. You feel too much. You attach too easily. You never learned to detach."
Jacob's jaw clenches.
"That's why we used you," Damian says. "It was so easy."
Jacob doesn't flinch.
I do.
What does that mean?
Used him? For what?
"Do you want to tell her?" Damian taunts. "Shall I?"
Jacob steps closer, gun steady despite his shaking hand. "If you say anything—"
"Oh, she doesn't know." Damian laughs. "Jacob never told you the truth about how he got free of us, did he?"
"Shut. Up."
Damian tilts his head. "You're the reason her father is dead."
The world stops.
My vision blurs.
Jacob freezes like he's been stabbed all over again.
Damian smiles at my expression.
"You didn't know that part, did you? Jacob here was supposed to bring her father in. Not kill him—just lure him. But dear old Dad resisted. Things escalated. And in the end…"
"STOP." Jacob's voice cracks like thunder. "Don't do this."
Liar.
My chest collapses.
Jacob turns to me immediately, panic ripping through him.
"Lily—no, listen—he's twisting it—your father—he wasn't supposed to die—"
My head spins.
"You said you left them," I whisper. "You said you never killed anyone."
"I didn't." Jacob takes a step toward me. "I didn't kill him, Lily. But I failed to protect him. I tried to stop it. I tried—"
Damian laughs. "He begged us to spare you, you know. He thought Jacob could help him escape. Shame it didn't work out."
Jacob's face breaks.Not cracks—breaks.
"Lily, please," he whispers. "Let me explain."
"We're out of time," Damian says.
He lifts his gun.
Jacob spins toward him—too fast, too desperate—and the motion rips his wound open.
He stumbles.
"No—!" I scream.
The gunshot explodes.
Jacob shoves me aside—throws himself between me and the bullet—and the world shatters.
The sound is deafening.His body jerks.Blood sprays across the floor.
He hits the ground hard.
"JACOB!"
I drop to my knees beside him, hands shaking violently as I grab him, pull him into my lap.
His eyes flicker open.Barely.
He tries to breathe.Fails.Tries again.Fails again.
"No, no, no—Jacob, stay with me—please—"
He lifts a trembling hand and touches my cheek.
"Don't… cry…" he breathes.
I break.
I scream.Not words—just pain.The kind that splits out of you when your world is dying in your arms.
Damian laughs softly. "Always dramatic."
"SHUT UP!" I sob, bending over Jacob. "You're okay, Jacob—you're okay—just breathe—please—breathe—"
His hand falls away.
His eyes flutter.
No.
NO.
"Look at me!" I yell, grabbing his face. "Jacob, LOOK AT ME!"
His eyes open again—slow, heavy, full of something fragile.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
"No."
"I should've told you."
"No."
"I wanted… more time…"
"Stop," I sob, shaking him. "You promised you wouldn't die—you PROMISED—"
He smiles weakly.
A real smile.Soft.Loving.
"Lily," he whispers, "I… love you."
The world stops.
Breaks.
Begins again.
"Jacob—" my voice dies in my throat— "I love you too—so much—so much—don't leave me—don't you dare leave me—"
He closes his eyes.
His head drops.
"NO!" I scream, shaking him, tears pouring down my face. "JACOB—PLEASE—JACOB—"
Footsteps approach behind me.
Damian.
"You really are just like your father," he says coldly. "Too emotional. Too weak."
I gently lower Jacob to the ground.
My body feels strange.Empty.Then full of something burning.Black.Sharp.
I stand up slowly.
Damian lifts his gun.
I don't care.
"I'm not weak," I whisper.
And I grab the gun Jacob dropped.
I fire.
The bullet tears across Damian's arm, ripping his composure apart.
He screams.
Chaos erupts.
Jacob gasps—barely alive—and his voice breaks through the ringing in my ears:
"Lily… run…"
But I don't.
I stand my ground.
And I face the monster who stole everything from us.