The hallway outside the ICU felt colder than the room Lena had fled from.
Colder than her father's skin.
Colder than the voice that crawled out of his dying throat.
Sela and Bena sat huddled on a bench, both crying silently. Nurses rushed through double doors. A doctor barked for a crash cart. But even through all the chaos, Lena heard nothing except her own heartbeat, hammering like it was trying to break through her chest.
She stood still in the hallway, knuckles pressed to her lips, staring blankly at the floor.
Gone.
He was gone again.
For real this time.
Behind her, Moody stepped out of the ICU… slowly. Too slowly. As if the air resisted him.
His shadow stretched across the white tiles, stopping just short of hers.
He didn't dare get closer.
He didn't dare breathe.
Sela looked up first.
Her voice cracked.
"Moody? W-What happened?"
Moody swallowed hard. "He… didn't make it."
The words landed like a blow.
Bena broke into a louder sob. Sela covered her face. Lena squeezed her eyes shut, the world tilting beneath her feet.
"He came back," Lena whispered numbly. "Just for a moment. And then he…"
Her voice cracked. "He slipped away again."
Moody opened his mouth—maybe to comfort her, maybe to explain—but she turned her face away.
He swallowed whatever he was about to say.
The doctor stepped out some minutes later, exhausted, sweat sticking to his collar.
"We're… very sorry," he said, tone grave. "We did everything we could."
Lena's stomach twisted painfully.
But then—
The doctor added something that scraped across her nerves.
"We need the family to confirm the body. For transfer."
Her breath hitched.
The body.
Her father.
She nodded shakily. "I… I'll go."
With Sela and Bena supporting her, she walked back toward the ICU doors—slow, hesitant steps. Moody followed at a distance, hands clenched at his sides.
The doctor pushed the door open.
Everyone stepped inside.
And froze.
Completely.
Utterly.
The bed was empty.
The sheets were tossed, clinging to the mattress like someone had torn themselves free.
Electrodes lay scattered. The heart monitor still beeped in a steady rhythm—impossible, lifeless, wrong.
Lena's mouth fell open. "W–Where… where is he?"
The nurse nearest the bed panicked.
"I—I swear, he was here. We were preparing him… I turned around for a second—"
"He couldn't have walked out," another stammered. "He was dead!"
Sela covered her mouth in horror.
Bena grabbed Lena's arm, shaking. "Lee… Lee what's happening?"
Lena took a step back, her heart slamming against her ribs.
He was gone.
Not just dead.
Gone.
Moody's breathing changed. Barely noticeable—unless someone was watching him. This is worse than he ever expected and it gonna bring a lot of chaos.
Lena wasn't… but she felt it.
He stood stiff, like a hunted thing. Like something in the room terrified him more than her father's disappearance.
The doctor demanded camera checks, lockdown codes, station reports—but Lena barely heard him.
Her father disappearing?
It was impossible.
Impossible… and yet it had happened.
Just like everything else.
She turned away from the chaos, pressing her hands over her eyes.
Sela tried comforting her. Bena hugged her tightly.
But all Lena felt… was the last thing her father said.
Don't trust the man with the silver mark.
She inhaled shakily and finally turned to look at Moody.
Really look.
He stood apart from everyone—eyes lowered, face shadowed, silver mark by his ear barely glowing under the hospital lights.
He wasn't pleading like before.
He wasn't defending himself.
He just waited.
As if ready for her to say she never wanted to see him again.
As if ready to lose her.
She stepped closer.
Moody's eyes flicked up—silent, wary, almost broken.
"Lena…" he whispered.
She held her breath… then exhaled slowly.
"I'm scared," she admitted, voice trembling. "I don't understand anything. I don't know what happened in that room. I don't know why my dad said what he said. And I don't know why his body is gone."
Her throat tightened.
"But I do know one thing."
Moody swallowed, waiting. Ready to hear her final judgement.
"You've been there for me. Every time I needed you. Every second through all this. And right now…"
Her voice broke.
"I can't do this alone."
A sharp breath escaped him—like he'd been holding it for minutes, maybe hours. But deep down, he new the war just started. The Highs won't like to hear Mr Luke's body is missing.
"Lee…" he whispered, voice thick, trembling with relief he couldn't hide.
She took another step closer.
"I don't know what the silver mark means," she said softly. "I don't know what my dad saw. But I'm choosing to trust you. Until I find real answers."
Silence hung heavy beside them.
Moody's eyes glistened—not with tears, but something deeper. Something heavier. Something that scared him more than anything. He thought for once if he was doing the right thing but again his guts didn't let his ego disappear.
"Are you sure?" he asked quietly. "If you trust me… you can't take it back."
Lena replied slowly yet her instincts telling her otherwise.
"I'm sure."
For the first time since the nightmare began, Moody stepped toward her without hesitation. He reached for her hand—carefully, gently—like she was something fragile he was terrified of breaking.
This time…
She didn't pull away.
Their fingers intertwined.
Warm.
Real.
Despite everything.
Despite fear.
Despite the silver mark.
Behind them, alarms blared as staff searched for a missing body.
But Lena and Moody stood still in the chaos.
Because something far more dangerous had just begun.
And trust—fragile, trembling, uncertain—was the only thing holding them together.
Thirsty....