The flames behind them still burned in Ariana's mind long after they left the ruins.
Every second that passed felt heavier.
Because Lia was still out there.
Still trapped.
And now—
They had nothing.
Or at least… that's what Ariana thought.
"Stop the car."
Adrian's voice was sudden.
Sharp.
The driver reacted immediately, pulling over on an empty stretch of road.
Ariana turned to him. "What happened?"
Adrian didn't answer right away. His eyes were fixed on his phone, scanning something quickly—intensely.
Then—
"I tracked the signal," he said.
Ariana's breath caught. "What?"
"The video feed," he explained. "It wasn't fully cut. My system caught a fragment before it went offline."
Hope sparked instantly.
"Can you find her?" Ariana asked.
Adrian's expression tightened slightly.
"Not exactly," he said. "But I found something else."
He turned the screen toward her.
A paused image.
Blurry—but clear enough.
Ariana leaned closer.
At first—
She didn't understand what she was seeing.
Lia.
Sitting in the same room.
Unharmed.
But behind her—
A shadow.
A person.
Someone standing just outside the camera's full frame.
Ariana's eyes narrowed.
"Zoom in," she whispered.
Adrian did.
The image sharpened slightly.
And then—
Ariana's entire body went still.
Her breath stopped.
"No…" she whispered.
Her fingers trembled as she reached toward the screen.
"That's not possible…"
Adrian looked at her. "You know who that is?"
Ariana didn't answer immediately.
Because she couldn't.
Because what she was seeing—
Didn't make sense.
Shouldn't make sense.
"That's him…" she finally said, her voice barely audible.
Adrian's eyes sharpened. "Who?"
Ariana swallowed hard.
"The one who helped me escape," she said.
Silence filled the car.
Heavy.
Confusing.
Adrian frowned. "The insider?"
Ariana nodded slowly.
"Yes."
A pause.
Then—
"But that means…"
Her voice trailed off.
Because the realization hit.
Hard.
If he was there—
If he was with Lia—
Then either—
He was still helping her…
Or—
He never was.
Adrian leaned back slightly, processing it quickly.
"Or he was playing both sides," he said.
Ariana shook her head immediately. "No. He saved me. I wouldn't be alive without him."
"Or he let you live," Adrian countered, his tone calm but sharp.
That hit.
Ariana looked down at the image again.
Her heart didn't want to believe it.
But her mind—
Was starting to question everything.
"Enhance the frame," Adrian said to the driver.
The driver nodded, connecting the system to a larger screen in the car.
The image expanded.
Clearer now.
More detailed.
The figure behind Lia shifted slightly.
Just enough—
To reveal part of his face.
Ariana gasped softly.
There was no doubt now.
It was him.
Same eyes.
Same presence.
Same person who had once opened a door for her—
And told her to run.
"Why would he be there…?" she whispered.
Adrian's voice was quiet.
"Maybe because he never left."
Ariana's chest tightened painfully.
That possibility—
It felt worse than betrayal.
Because it meant—
Everything she believed in back then—
Might have been a lie.
Suddenly—
The screen flickered.
Then—
To their shock—
It turned on again.
Live.
Lia appeared once more.
Ariana leaned forward instantly. "Lia!"
The child looked up—
As if she could hear her.
But then—
A hand appeared on her shoulder.
That same man.
Now fully visible.
He stepped into frame.
And looked directly at the camera.
At Ariana.
A slow, knowing smile formed on his face.
"Hello, Ariana," he said.
Her breath caught.
"You remember me."
Ariana couldn't speak.
Couldn't move.
Her entire past—
Crashing into her present.
"What do you want?" Adrian demanded, his voice turning cold.
The man's gaze shifted briefly to him.
"Ah… the husband," he said casually.
Then—
Back to Ariana.
"You shouldn't have come back," he said softly.
Ariana finally found her voice.
"You helped me," she said, her tone shaking slightly. "Why are you doing this?"
The man tilted his head slightly.
"Helped you?" he repeated.
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"I gave you a chance," he corrected. "What you did with it… was your choice."
Ariana's heart sank.
"Where is she?" she demanded, her voice breaking. "Give her back!"
The man's expression didn't change.
"She's exactly where she needs to be," he said.
That same phrase.
Again.
Ariana's patience snapped.
"She's not yours!" she shouted.
The man's eyes darkened slightly.
"No," he said.
A pause.
Then—
"But she belongs to something bigger than you."
Silence.
Deadly.
Ariana's hands clenched.
"You don't get to decide that," she said.
The man smiled again.
"Don't I?"
He leaned slightly closer to the camera.
And whispered—
"Come find me."
The screen went black again.
The car fell into complete silence.
Ariana sat frozen.
Her mind racing.
Her heart breaking.
Her past—
Turning against her.
Adrian finally spoke.
"We have a lead," he said.
Ariana didn't respond.
Her eyes were still fixed on the blank screen.
"Then we go after it," he continued.
Slowly—
She nodded.
But her voice…
Was different now.
Colder.
Stronger.
"He's not helping anymore," she said.
A pause.
Then—
"He's the enemy."
Cliffhanger:
👉 Adrian receives a new message—
A location pin appears…
And underneath it—
"If you're late… she suffers." 😈
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