🔥 Chapter 20 –Â
The moment I shook my head at Lena, everything snapped.
"Wrong choice," my father said, his voice dripping with venom.
Ethan shoved me to the ground just as the first shot rang out. The bullet shattered the glass behind me, raining shards like deadly rain. I crawled, my palms slicing open, but adrenaline burned hotter than the pain.
Lena hesitated — just for a second — and that second was enough. Ethan grabbed her, twisting the gun from her hand. But she screamed, "Get down!"
Too late.
The explosion tore through the warehouse with a sound that felt like it ripped the air itself apart. The walls seemed to breathe in before bursting outward, metal and fire raining over us.
Heat slammed into me, stealing my breath. My ears rang, my vision blurred, and all I could hear was Ethan shouting my name… over and over… until even that faded.
When I opened my eyes, the roof was gone. The night sky stared down at me, cold and unblinking. Smoke curled into it like dark fingers.
Ethan was gone.
So was Lena.
And standing through the haze, untouched by the flames, was a figure I hadn't seen in months — the one I thought was dead.
They smiled.
"Miss me?"