Ava's chest heaved as she stared at the empty street. The SUV had vanished into the night, leaving only the echo of its engine in the rain-soaked silence. Her hands trembled, her mind spinning. Her mother—her mother was part of this? And Ethan and Damien… they knew. They had always known.
"Explain." Her voice was sharp, cracking at the edges.
Ethan crossed his arms, rainwater dripping from his perfectly tailored coat. "There isn't a simple way to say this."
"Try me," Ava snapped, stepping back instinctively.
Damien's dark eyes glimmered under the streetlights. "Some truths are dangerous."
"Not as dangerous as lying to me my entire life!" Ava yelled. Her heels slipped on the slick pavement. She caught herself on a nearby lamppost, heart hammering. "You didn't just protect me… you've been hiding something—about her. About my mother!"
Ethan's jaw tightened. "We were trying to protect you from the full truth until you were ready."
"Ready?" Ava's laughter was bitter. "I wasn't ready ten years ago! I'm not ready now! What is happening? Who were these people?"
Damien took a cautious step closer. "Your mother… she wasn't ordinary. And the people chasing you tonight… they weren't random strangers. They were after her legacy."
"Legacy?" Ava repeated, the word tasting strange on her tongue.
"Yes," Ethan said, voice low and controlled. "Whatever your mother built, she left behind pieces of it scattered in ways only certain people could understand. You're one of those pieces."
Ava's stomach dropped. Her mother had died—or disappeared—when she was just ten. She had no memory of anything beyond the day the letters arrived, the whispers of danger, the sudden void.
"You're saying… I'm involved in some game my mother started?" Ava's voice trembled.
Damien's gaze didn't waver. "You've been drawn in whether you knew it or not. And the invitation tonight… it wasn't a mistake. It was a signal."
"You mean the gala?" she asked, glancing at the glittering tower still visible across the street. "It was all orchestrated?"
Ethan nodded. "Yes. Both of us were meant to be there. Both of us have interests in the same… assets. And you are central to that."
Ava's hands clutched her coat. "You sound like villains," she muttered.
"Maybe we are," Damien said quietly, "but not to you. Not intentionally. We've been trying to keep you alive, not to control you… yet."
She stared at him, uncomprehending. "And the man… the stranger? Who was he? Why is he saying my mother started this?"
Ethan exhaled sharply. "He's one of many who want pieces of what your mother left behind. Pieces of power, influence… money. Whatever she built, they want control of it. And they will use you to get it."
Ava's heart raced. "And you two? You're supposed to protect me? Or are you… part of this?"
Damien's hand twitched, almost unconsciously. "We're not part of it. But… we are fighting our own war. And you've been caught in the middle."
Ava's knees threatened to buckle. "Caught in the middle? I'm supposed to be a college graduate working small freelance jobs! I don't belong in this world!"
"You don't get to choose that," Ethan said firmly. "Not anymore."
Silence hung over them for a moment. The rain pattered steadily, the city lights reflecting off wet asphalt like shattered glass. Ava's mind raced, connecting dots she wasn't sure she wanted to.
Damien took a step closer, closer than necessary. "You need to understand… once you know the truth, you can't go back. This is bigger than both of us, bigger than your mother's death, bigger than… anything you've ever known."
Ethan's gaze flicked to the shadows beyond the street. "We need to move. Now."
"Move where?" Ava asked, panic rising. "Into… into what?"
Before either man could answer, a sudden roar of engines cut through the night. Headlights reflected sharply off the rain-slick pavement. Ava squinted. Multiple SUVs were approaching fast.
"Get down!" Damien shouted, pulling her to the ground behind a low wall.
Bullets—or something metallic—pinged against the pavement near them. The sound echoed in the empty street.
Ava pressed herself against the cold concrete, heart hammering. "What… what do they want?!"
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "They want control. And they won't stop."
Damien whispered close to her ear, voice dark and sharp: "They've always known where you were. They've always been watching. And now… they're coming for the final piece."
Ava swallowed, dread coiling in her stomach. "Final piece… that's me?"
Ethan's jaw clenched. "Yes."
She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to disappear into the rain. But she couldn't. Not now.
A shadow fell across the street. A figure stepped from one of the SUVs, tall, dangerous, wearing a hood that obscured their face.
Damien's hand went to her shoulder protectively. Ethan's fingers hovered near his coat pocket, ready.
The stranger raised a hand, almost casually. "Ava Cross," they called, their voice low and unnervingly calm. "Time's up."
Ava's blood ran cold.
She looked at Ethan. She looked at Damien.
And she realized the terrifying truth: tonight wasn't the first attack—and it wouldn't be the last.
The city lights flickered. Rain fell harder.
Ava's heart thundered. She was trapped, alone, and the war her mother started had finally found her.