Morning came slower than anyone wanted. Not dramatic, not loud, just slow and heavy, like the world itself was trying to warn them about the day ahead. Ella woke first, and the first thing she felt wasn't fear, it was anxiety moving through her body like she had swallowed a stone. She sat up slowly, pushing her hair back, breathing in the quiet room.
She didn't want to wake Ben, but she didn't have to. He was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. He didn't look sad, just focused. Deep in thought. The kind of focus people get when they're preparing for something they can't control.
Ella stood and walked to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "You didn't sleep."
He shook his head lightly. "Wasn't really expecting to." He finally looked up at her, and his eyes carried that mix of protectiveness and frustration he always had when it came to Rita. "Are you sure you're ready?"
Ella nodded. "If I'm not ready now, I'll never be."
Ben didn't argue. He just exhaled slowly.
Lucas knocked once on the door and pushed it open halfway. "Hope you two are awake. Rita's already up." His voice was low, calm, but sharp around the edges.
Ella blinked. "Already?"
Lucas nodded. "She's acting normal. Too normal. She walked downstairs like she didn't cause chaos yesterday."
Ben rubbed his face with both hands. "That means she's hiding something."
Lucas shrugged lightly. "Or pretending to be innocent. Either way, it works in our favor."
Ben stood, stretching his back. "We follow the plan. Ella walks close, I stay back. You observe from angles."
Lucas smirked. "Yeah. Nothing flashy. Just shadows."
Ella put on a light jacket, her movements quick and nervous. She hated the feeling of being watched, and today she would put herself in that exact position. She didn't want to follow Rita, but she had to. The only way to understand Rita was to move quietly around her.
They stepped out into the hallway. It was early, so everything felt still. No voices, no footsteps. Just the old house breathing.
Lucas leaned against the wall and nodded toward the stairs. "She went outside. Took her keys. Alone."
Ben frowned. "Alone? That's weird."
Ella whispered back, "She never goes alone. Jasper always shadows her."
Lucas shrugged. "Well… he's not there today."
Ella's chest tightened. "That means she's doing something she doesn't want Jasper to know."
Ben looked at Lucas with something like approval. "Exactly."
Ella swallowed hard. "Let's go."
They walked outside quietly. The air was cool but not cold, and the ground still held a soft morning damp. Rita's car was already gone, leaving only a fading trail of dust behind her.
Lucas pointed toward the road. "She headed toward the main town. Not the usual direction she takes."
Ben muttered under his breath, "Of course she did."
Ella climbed into their car, and Ben slid into the driver's seat. Lucas sat in the back, tapping lightly on his phone, checking cameras and street routes he had access to.
Ben started the engine. "We're not tailing close. She sees us, this whole plan dies."
"I know," Ella whispered, buckling her seatbelt with shaky fingers.
Ben noticed and placed his hand briefly on hers. "You'll be fine."
She didn't say anything. She hoped he was right.
They drove slowly, far enough not to be obvious but close enough to know where Rita was going. Lucas looked at the moving dot on his screen.
"She stopped."
Ella leaned slightly toward him. "Where?"
Lucas zoomed in. "Near that old warehouse. The abandoned one by the edge of town."
Ben stiffened. "That place again."
Ella frowned. "What's there?"
Ben sighed. "Trouble. Always trouble."
Lucas nodded. "Nobody goes there unless they want privacy."
Ella asked quietly, "Is she meeting someone?"
Lucas paused, squinting at his screen. "I don't know yet."
Ben parked the car a few streets away. "We do this carefully. No rushing. No assumptions."
Ella took a deep breath. "I know."
Lucas pointed toward a narrow path. "She walked through there. The cameras caught her passing but didn't show who she met."
Ella stepped out of the car. Her heart thudded against her ribs, but her breathing stayed steady. She needed to stay calm. She needed to observe, not react.
Ben walked beside her but kept a meter of distance. He wanted to be close, but not enough to ruin the plan.
Lucas followed behind them quietly.
As they reached the old warehouse, the windows looked dusty and cracked. The place was huge and half-rotten, the kind of building that used to be busy but now felt forgotten by everyone except people who needed somewhere they wouldn't be seen.
Ella pressed her back against the wall and peeked around the edge.
Rita wasn't alone.
She stood near the entrance talking to a tall man Ella didn't recognize. He wore a dark jacket, kept his hands in his pockets, and leaned toward Rita like he knew her well.
Ben whispered near Ella's ear, "Do you know him?"
Ella shook her head.
Lucas crouched near them, watching through his phone camera's zoom. "I've never seen him either. He's not from the usual people she deals with."
Rita's voice drifted through the quiet air—sharp, irritated, but controlled. Ella couldn't make out every word, just the tone. The man replied in a low voice, calm and firm, like he had leverage over her.
Ella whispered, "She looks… uncomfortable."
Ben nodded slowly. "She is. That's not how she acts when she's in control."
Lucas tilted his head. "He's threatening her. Look at her shoulders. She's tense."
Ella swallowed hard. "Why would someone be threatening her?"
Ben muttered, "Probably because she's neck-deep in things she shouldn't be."
Ella watched longer, her stomach tightening again. Rita looked around, paranoid, then stepped deeper inside the warehouse with the man following her.
Ella's eyes widened. "We need to hear them. We need proof."
Ben hissed softly, "No. Too risky."
Ella turned to him, frustration rising. "Ben, this is exactly why we came. If we go back without anything, we gain nothing."
Lucas sighed. "She's right. We don't need to get too close. Just close enough."
Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning under his breath. "Fine. But one wrong move, we pull out. No arguments."
Ella nodded once, sharp and determined.
They moved to the side door of the warehouse, staying low, staying silent. Ella's hands trembled slightly, but she brushed them against her jeans and steadied herself. The moment they reached the rusted metal door, they heard voices.
Rita's first, sharp while she panicked.
The man is calm and confident.
Lucas leaned slightly toward the crack. "He wants something from her. Something big."
Ella closed her eyes for a second, focusing. She didn't want fear to cloud her hearing.
Then she heard it.
The man said, "If you don't handle it, I will. And trust me, you won't like how I do things."
Rita snapped back, "Don't threaten me. You know who I am."
He laughed small, cold sound. "That's exactly the problem."
Ben clenched his fists slowly.
Ella whispered, "This is bigger than we thought."
Lucas muttered, "Way bigger."
They stayed there for a few minutes, listening, catching fragments, trying to piece the conversation together. Ella's heart beat so loud that she thought someone might hear it.
Finally, the voices faded, and footsteps moved deeper into the warehouse.
Ben pulled Ella slightly back. "Enough for today. We have confirmation she's hiding things. Dangerous things."
Ella nodded, her mind racing. "We need to find out who he is."
Lucas stood, stretching his stiff back. "I'll track him. Don't worry."
Ella let out a shaky breath. "This changes everything."
Ben gave her a look both firm and soft. "It does. But now we're ahead."
They walked away quietly, their steps controlled, their breathing steady. The morning didn't feel slow anymore. It felt sharp.
Like something big had started.