The city outside the hospital window was waking up.
Neon lights flickered off.
The first tired buses rumbled down the streets.
The world was moving forward.
But inside the quiet hospital room, time stood still.
Jayden sat beside Aria's bed, their hands still lightly intertwined.
Neither spoke.
Words were too heavy.
Too fragile.
Too sacred.
Instead, they simply existed.
Breathing the same air.
Alive.
Together.
But Jayden's heart burned with questions — and fear.
Because survival wasn't the end.
It was only the beginning.
---
At sunrise, a nurse brought Jayden a small black envelope.
No return address.
No sender.
Only his name, written in blood-red ink.
Jayden opened it with shaking fingers.
Inside was a single photo.
It showed a warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
Underneath, written in sharp, slashing handwriting:
> "Come alone.
Or she dies."
Jayden's breath caught in his throat.
He knew.
Cain wasn't finished.
The nightmare wasn't over.
It had just changed shape.
---
Jayden looked at Aria, still weak, her face pale against the hospital pillows.
Leaving her was unthinkable.
But staying meant putting a target on her back — again.
Pain twisted his gut like a knife.
He had a choice.
A stupid, impossible choice.
Protect her...
or protect her future.
With trembling fingers, he brushed her hair back from her forehead and whispered:
> "I'll be back before you know it.
I promise."
A lie.
A beautiful, terrible lie.
Because in his heart, Jayden knew —
He might not come back at all.
---
The sun was a pale ghost overhead when Jayden slipped out of the hospital.
No bodyguards.
No backup.
No weapons.
Just him and the stubborn, reckless love that had always been his downfall.
The city blurred around him as he drove.
Red lights.
Blurred faces.
Shouts and horns fading into meaningless noise.
All that mattered was the address burned into his mind.
All that mattered was keeping Aria safe.
Even if it meant destroying himself.
---
The warehouse loomed like a broken monster against the skyline.
Rust flaked from its walls.
Chains swung from the rafters.
And in the center of the vast, empty floor stood a figure.
Cain.
Alive.
Smiling.
A gun loosely dangling from his hand, as casual as a man holding a cigarette.
> "You came."
"Just like a good little hero." Cain sneered.
Jayden didn't flinch.
> "Where's Aria?"
"What do you want?"
Cain laughed.
It was a terrible sound — hollow and sharp.
> "Want?"
"I want you to understand."
"You can't save her. You never could. You were always the weakest link."
Jayden's fists clenched.
> "I'm not here to listen to you. Let's end this. Now."
Cain's grin widened.
> "Oh, we'll end it alright.
But not the way you think."
He snapped his fingers.
And from the shadows, two masked men dragged out a third figure.
A figure that Jayden recognized instantly.
Aria's brother — Elias.
Bruised. Bloody. Barely conscious.
Jayden's stomach dropped.
This wasn't just about Aria.
It was about everything.
His past.
His mistakes.
His failure to protect the people he loved.
---
Cain raised his gun, pointing it lazily between Elias and Jayden.
> "One bullet.
One choice.
Shoot your only family — or let her brother die.
Either way... you lose."
Jayden's heart hammered in his chest.
The world narrowed to the gun in Cain's hand.
The fear in Elias's eyes.
The memory of Aria's smile.
And the terrible knowledge that whatever he chose —
something inside him would break forever.
---