The old warehouse looked exactly as I remembered it.
Broken windows.
Rusty metal doors.
Tall weeds growing through cracks in the concrete.
And the silence.
That terrible silence that made every instinct in my body scream that I shouldn't be there.
I sat in the back seat of Malik's car, staring at the building.
Maya was somewhere inside.
Or at least, I hoped she was.
My hands were cold.
"Don't do anything reckless," Malik said.
I looked at him.
"You're the one who brought me here."
"I said I would come with you. I didn't say I wanted you anywhere near that building."
Dominic parked behind an abandoned truck.
Adrian got out first.
He studied the warehouse carefully.
"This place hasn't been used in years."
"Then why would they bring Maya here?" I asked.
"To make you come," he replied.
I looked at him.
"You think she's not inside?"
"I think whoever sent the message wants us to believe she is."
My heart sank.
"What if you're wrong?"
"Then we find her."
That was the first thing Adrian had said that gave me even a little comfort.
We walked toward the warehouse.
The closer we got, the stronger the memories became.
Rain.
Running.
A little girl's scream.
A boy holding my hand.
Headlights.
Then darkness.
I stopped.
Malik turned.
"What is it?"
"I've been here before."
He nodded.
"I know."
"No."
I looked at the building.
"I remember something else."
"What?"
"There was a red door."
Dominic looked toward the side of the building.
"There is one."
My heart began racing.
I walked toward it.
Adrian grabbed my arm.
"Wait."
I pulled away.
"I need to see it."
The door was covered in rust, but beneath the dirt I could still see traces of faded red paint.
I touched it.
Another memory hit me.
A little girl hiding behind the door.
A woman whispering,
"Don't make a sound."
Then footsteps.
Someone shouting.
And a man saying,
"Find the girl."
I stumbled backward.
Malik caught me.
"Lina!"
"I remember."
"What?"
"There was a woman with me."
"Your mother?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
I looked at the door.
"But she knew me."
We entered through the side entrance.
The warehouse was darker than I remembered.
Every sound echoed.
A loose piece of metal clanged somewhere above us.
I flinched.
Malik immediately moved closer.
"Stay beside me."
I nodded.
We searched the first room.
Nothing.
The second.
Nothing.
Then we heard something.
A faint sound.
Like someone crying.
I froze.
"Maya?"
The crying stopped.
"Maya!"
We followed the sound deeper into the building.
A single light hung from the ceiling.
Beneath it sat a chair.
And tied to the chair was Maya.
Her mouth was covered with tape.
My heart shattered.
"Maya!"
I rushed forward.
Adrian grabbed me.
"Wait!"
I struggled against him.
"She needs help!"
"It's too easy."
He was right.
The room was completely exposed.
No guards.
No attacker.
Nothing.
Dominic carefully moved toward Maya.
He checked the floor.
Then the walls.
Finally, he reached her.
"No wires."
He removed the tape from her mouth.
Maya immediately cried out.
"Lina!"
I ran to her.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded, crying.
"They brought me here."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Did you see their faces?"
She shook her head.
"There were two of them."
"What did they want?"
"You."
My stomach tightened.
"Me?"
"They kept asking where you were."
I looked at Malik.
"Did you tell them?"
Maya shook her head.
"No."
I hugged her.
"I'm sorry."
She cried against my shoulder.
Then suddenly, she pushed me away.
"Lina, we have to leave."
"Why?"
"Because this isn't the real trap."
Before I could ask what she meant, the warehouse doors slammed shut.
Everyone turned.
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed us.
"Stay together!" Adrian shouted.
I heard Dominic moving.
Then a loud metallic sound.
Something hit the floor.
Malik grabbed my hand.
"Don't let go."
"I won't."
A voice came through the speakers above us.
Distorted.
Cold.
"You came."
My heart raced.
"Who are you?" I shouted.
A laugh echoed through the warehouse.
"You still don't remember me."
I looked at Maya.
She was trembling.
"Have you heard that voice before?"
She shook her head.
The voice continued.
"Three men protected you."
A light suddenly came on.
One by one, three screens appeared on the wall.
The first showed Malik.
The second showed Dominic.
The third showed Adrian.
Then a fourth screen appeared.
It showed me.
As a child.
I stopped breathing.
The footage showed the night of the attack.
There I was.
Eight years old.
Running through the warehouse.
Malik was beside me.
Dominic was farther behind.
Adrian was entering through another door.
And then—
A fourth person appeared.
A woman.
I couldn't see her face.
But I knew her voice.
The same voice from the phone.
The same voice from the warehouse.
The same voice I had heard earlier in my life.
Maya suddenly covered her mouth.
I turned toward her.
"What?"
She was crying.
"You know her."
Maya shook her head.
"No."
"You do."
"No, Lina."
"Then why are you crying?"
She looked at the screen.
"I thought she was dead."
My blood turned cold.
"Who?"
Maya didn't answer.
The screen suddenly froze.
Then a name appeared.
ELENA VALE.
Adrian's face went pale.
Malik whispered something under his breath.
I looked between them.
"Who is Elena Vale?"
Nobody answered.
"Tell me!"
Dominic finally spoke.
"She was your mother's closest friend."
I stared at him.
"And?"
Adrian's voice was barely audible.
"She was the person who betrayed her."
My heart dropped.
The warehouse lights suddenly came back on.
But the screens were gone.
So was Maya.
I spun around.
"Maya?"
She wasn't beside me.
The door behind us was open.
And on the concrete floor was a single piece of paper.
I picked it up.
Three words were written on it.
SHE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING.
I looked at Malik.
"Where is Maya?"
He stared at the open doorway.
"She was never the hostage."
My blood ran cold.
"What?"
Dominic's face hardened.
"She was the messenger."
I shook my head.
"No."
Adrian looked at me sadly.
"Lina…"
"No!"
I backed away.
"Maya would never betray me."
Then my phone vibrated.
One new message.
ASK MAYA WHY SHE LIED ABOUT KNOWING ELENA.
I stared at the screen.
For the first time in my life, I realized that the person I had called my best friend might have been hiding the biggest secret of all.