[INT. CAFÉ – LATE AFTERNOON]
The café buzzed softly with quiet murmurs, rain tapping the windows like a forgotten memory. Harriet sat across from Fred in the farthest booth, the world outside fading into a blur of gray and drizzle. Between them sat two untouched coffees, gone cold — like the air between their bodies.
Harriet's eyes were rimmed with red. Her voice was barely more than a breath.
HARRIET
(quietly)
"I think… it's better we don't see each other anymore."
Fred didn't flinch. He didn't argue. He only sat there, gaze steady, heart thundering under the surface.
FRED
(calm, unreadable)
"If that's what you want."
She wanted him to say it wasn't.
But he didn't.
She forced a nod, her fingers clenching around the strap of her bag as she stood. Her voice cracked on the edge of a whisper.
HARRIET
"Goodbye, Fred."
And just like that, she walked out.
He didn't follow.
---
[EXT. STREETS – EVENING]
Harriet moved through the city like a ghost — shoulders hunched against the wind, eyes distant. The streetlamps flickered as the rain deepened.
She barely noticed the van pull up until it was too late.
Brakes screeched.
A hand clamped over her mouth.
Her scream was swallowed by the storm.
The van door slammed.
Gone.
---
[INT. OLD ABANDONED HOUSE – NIGHT]
The musty scent of rot and damp wood filled Harriet's nose. When her vision cleared, she recognized it immediately — her old home.
Once warm. Now soulless.
Now… a cage.
Candles flickered in the corners like ghosts.
Footsteps echoed.
And then — a voice:
???
"You finally came back."
Harriet turned toward the voice.
Out of the shadows stepped a figure she hadn't seen in months.
HARRIET
(staggered)
"Liora?"
Rufei's ex-girlfriend.
Her smirk was sharp, venomous.
LIORA
"You don't remember me, do you?"
(throws a folder on the table)
"My mother and sister starved to death. Because of your father's empire."
Harriet's breath hitched as she stared at the old photos, clippings, newsprint. Faded headlines and black-and-white images that screamed tragedy.
LIORA
"And then you had to steal Rufei too."
HARRIET
"I never—"
LIORA
"Shut up."
She shoved Harriet back into the chair, tightening the ropes around her wrists.
LIORA
"You're going to sit here quietly… until Mr. Vance decides what to do with you."
---
[INT. BETTA'S CAFÉ – NIGHT]
The storm rolled in louder now. Betta paced frantically behind the counter. Her sixth call to Harriet had gone unanswered.
She felt it in her chest — something was wrong.
With trembling hands, she called Fred.
---
[INT. FRED'S APARTMENT – NIGHT]
Fred's world had slowed to a crawl. He stared at the scarf Harriet had left behind. Her scent still lingered.
The phone rang.
FRED
(dull)
"Betta?"
BETTA
(voice trembling)
"She's gone, Fred. Not picking up. It's been hours."
The cold in his chest vanished — replaced with fire.
He didn't ask questions.
He just grabbed his gun.
---
[EXT. ABANDONED STREETS – LATE NIGHT]
The storm howled through the city, swallowing the night.
Fred moved fast — through alleys, dead streets, and places no one dared go. His instincts led him somewhere familiar. Somewhere old.
He didn't need a map.
He was being pulled.
---
[INT. OLD HOUSE – BASEMENT]
Harriet's wrists bled from trying to escape.
Liora paced in front of her, twisting a blade in her fingers.
LIORA
"You think Rufei ever loved you? You think anyone does?"
HARRIET
(broken but firm)
"If they didn't, you wouldn't be this angry."
Suddenly — a crash upstairs.
Liora froze.
LIORA
(gritted)
"They're here."
She grabbed Harriet by the jaw.
LIORA
"Let's see what your heroes are really made of."
---
[INT. OLD HOUSE – UPSTAIRS]
Fred kicked open the door, gun raised. But he wasn't alone.
Rufei was there — already inside, bruised, breathless, suspicious.
They lunged at each other.
FRED
(grabbing his arm)
"Who sent you?"
RUFEI
(struggling)
"No one! I tracked her phone location."
They stopped.
Both heard it.
A scream — Harriet's scream.
They ran.
---
[INT. BASEMENT – MOMENTS LATER]
The door burst open.
Fred saw red.
Harriet bound. Crying. Liora smirking.
FRED
(roaring)
"Don't you touch her!"
He rushed forward, untying Harriet with shaking hands. Rufei cornered Liora, disbelief in his face.
RUFEI
"You were with me… and plotting this?"
Liora laughed bitterly.
LIORA
"You're both fools. You can't stop him."
???
"No. But I can start."
A slow clap echoed.
Mr. Vance stepped in from the shadows, calm, poised — a pistol in his hand.
MR. VANCE
"Well, well. The knight, the ex, and the broken girl. A beautiful mess."
He raised the gun.
Shot fired.
Fred's leg buckled — blood soaking through his pants.
Harriet screamed.
HARRIET
"NO!"
She tried to rush toward him, but Vance grabbed her by the face — fingers tight on her jaw.
MR. VANCE
(coldly)
"I want something, Harriet."
Fred growled, crawling forward, gun slipping from his fingers.
MR. VANCE
"Your father took everything from me. Betrayed every oath. Every deal. And now… you're going to fix it."
Harriet trembled.
MR. VANCE
"There's a vault. A map. A key — hidden in the place only his daughter would know."
LIORA
(smiling darkly)
"You thought it was about love. It was always about blood."
Rufei tried to lunge forward — Mr. Vance's men swarmed him.
Harriet dropped to her knees beside Fred, clutching his bleeding leg.
Her tears mixed with the rain dripping from the broken ceiling.
HARRIET
(softly)
"I'm sorry…"
Fred grabbed her wrist weakly.
FRED
(hoarse)
"Don't give him anything."
Their eyes locked — a silent promise exchanged between chaos and ruin.
To be continued…
---