The knock on Mrs. Skye's door came just after dawn.
It wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
She had been sitting at the small kitchen table since midnight, untouched tea growing cold between her palms, staring at the place where her children's shoes should have been. Every sound since their disappearance felt like a threat—every passing car, every footstep outside.
So when the knock came, her heart didn't leap.
It sank.
She opened the door to four men in dark coats and harder expressions. None of them smiled. One of them stepped forward, polite enough to be dangerous.
"Mrs. Skye," he said. "Mr. Rafferty would like a word."
She didn't scream.
Didn't resist.
She only reached for her shawl walking aside with them. Deep down she already knew what she would be questioned.
----
The Rafferty estate smelled like smoke and money.
They brought her into a long room with tall windows and no warmth. Mr. Rafferty stood near the fireplace, hands clasped behind his back, watching the flames like they whispered secrets meant only for him.
"Sit," he said without turning.
Mrs. Skye sat.
"You're here," Rafferty continued, "because your children vanished, where were you yet i told you to look after them? That's why i brought you back to them.."
Her throat tightened. "I know."
"And because," he added, finally facing her, "every war in this city suddenly decided to begin the same night they did. Why didn't you inform me immediately?"
" I...I.. got....I mean they had surrounded me. I didn't know what to do or who to call for help." She defended tears falling on her cheeks."
" Have you forgotten our deal and the vows you took?" He calmly asked bending beside her trembling body.
"Noo! No!No! Why would I. That's why I'm still working for you. It's just that l....l was...afraid of...."
" You're fear and ignorant has caused me alot of death. My men have been killed and its your fault. Do you know that?"
"I'm so...sor....sorry. Please don't....."
" Shut up! He shouted holding her shoulders tightly. A hot slap landed on her cheeks which took her right to the cold floor.
Silence stretched.
"You're going to tell me everything," Rafferty said his eyes fuming. "Or I'm going to assume you're lying—and act accordingly. You know very well I don't play with my words."
Mrs. Skye closed her eyes.
Then she spoke.
She told him about the funeral.
The tea. Mr. Tan's voice, steady and apologetic.
How she'd stayed behind because he told her she had to—because eyes were already on her. She told him about the van. About the disappearance. About how Mr. Tan had been part of their lives for years, quiet and dependable and never once had suspicious.
Until now.
When she finished, the room was silent except for the fire.
Rafferty exhaled slowly.
"So," he murmured, "Mr. Tan finally stepped out of the shadows. Now let's us play a game of fire."
He turned sharply to his men. "Pull every record. Every alias. Every property tied to him, even the ones that don't exist. We gonna find him and his death will be a horrible one and a lesson to the public."
Mrs. Skye looked up, fear breaking through her composure.
"You won't hurt my children."
Rafferty smiled thinly. "No. But I will find them, and return them to you, safely without a scratch. Apart from Lena. You already signed the Contract.
And for the first time since they vanished, Mrs. Skye realized—
She might have just handed the match to an inferno. All in the name of power.
-----
Across the city, Nicky Stack threw a glass across her bedroom wall.
It shattered beautifully.
"He doesn't want me. I...it....it doesn't feel right. I've been trying in my best way to get closer to him, showing how much i love and care for him but he doesn't give me any sign that he wants me. I don'tknow what to do anymore," she snapped, pacing like a caged animal. "After everything—after choosing me—he still keeps me at arm's length."
Mr. Stack sat calmly in his chair, fingers steepled, watching his daughter unravel.
"Brine is proud," he said. "Men like him don't like being told what to do."
"I'm not telling him," Nicky hissed. "I'm waiting. And I'm done waiting."
Her father's eyes sharpened. "Then we remind him what he stands to lose."
Nicky stopped pacing.
"You said I'd be his wife."
"And you will be," Mr. Stack replied smoothly. "But first… we apply pressure."
A slow smile crept across Nicky's face.
"On Brine?" she asked.
"No," her father said. "On what he cares about. Trust me on this."
-----
Far from the city, Bernard and Selah crouched near the edge of the compound's perimeter, breath shallow, hearts racing.
The signal device Bernard had pieced together blinked weakly—one chance, maybe two.
"If Moody gets this," Selah whispered, "he'll know we're alive."
Bernard nodded, fingers flying.
Then—
A click.
Metal against metal.
A shadow fell over them.
They froze.
A guard's voice cut through the silence.
"Step away from the device."
Bernard moved first—too fast.
The guard struck him hard, sending the device skidding across the dirt. Selah screamed as another guard grabbed her, wrenching her arms behind her back.
Mr Tan appeared moments later, face unreadable.
"I warned you," he said quietly. "This place is for hiding, not signalling."
Bernard spat blood onto the ground. "You can't keep us here forever."
Mr Tan met his gaze. "I only need to keep you alive. Safe from them. You won't last long here."
The device lay crushed beneath a boot.
Hope went with it. They glanced at each other as Mr Tan disappears from their sight.
' I guess we have to find another way. Let me see does it hurt?" Sela said caressing his cheek."
" Not that much. But I have another idea." He smiled picking uo the device as he leads her toward the hallway where no one can find them.
-----
Lena on the other side, sat beneath a wide, silent tree as the afternoon light filtered through the leaves.
One week.
That was all it had been.
One week since death.
Since the hide.
Since the world decided she was worth burning cities for.
Since the betrayal from her close ones.
She pressed her palms into the dirt, grounding herself, replaying every face, every word, every warning from her father, but nothing rang a bell. She needed someone she can put her trust on just to find out everything. Everything about her life, about the meaning of silver mark, about Moody and the rest.
"Your life is the price." His father's words kept ringing in her ears.
She didn't know why she was the target. Didn't know what made her so valuable—or so dangerous.
But despite everything—
Despite the chaos, the blood, the lies—and betrayal;
She still believed Brine could be trusted. His presence somehow makes some things more clear despite them seeing each other for the third time.
And that scared her more than anything else.
-----
In the city, Brine stood over a wall covered in maps, photos, and strings of red thread.
Mr Tan's ghost stared back at him from every angle.
He hadn't slept.
"Sir," one of his men said cautiously. "We found something."
Brine turned slowly erasing anger from his face.
"A supply route," the man continued. "Old. Off-grid. Used once years ago by a contact linked to Tan."
Brine's eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
The man pointed.
Brine smiled—sharp and dangerous. Just a few miles from the city. I see."
"Found you," he muttered.
His smile escape from his lips taking out his phone. It's been less than a week and he can't wait for another night without having Lena under his protection. He can't lose her to The Rafferty's group. Things might fall apart. He moved towards the door then said to his men.
"We'll go get them tonight". Then walked out of the room as silence hit from inside.