The silence after Adrian's words was sharp enough to cut through steel.
Emma's heart thudded in her chest, every beat echoing against the ruins around them. Adrian's grip on her wrist was tight too tight but his eyes… they weren't just angry. They were desperate.
"Let me go," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Adrian didn't move. "You've been lying to me, Emma." His tone was low, dangerous, the same voice that once made boardrooms tremble. "You disappear for weeks, and now I find you here. With him."
Daniel took a cautious step forward. "She doesn't owe you anything, Adrian."
Adrian turned to him, fury flaring. "You don't get to speak. Not after what you did."
Daniel's jaw tightened. "What I did? You left her to die."
The air cracked with tension. Emma pulled her hand free, taking a shaky breath. "Stop it, both of you!"
Her voice echoed through the ruins, trembling but strong. "I'm not the same woman you both used to know. You think you can drag me back into that night, but I've already lived it once."
Adrian's eyes softened for a fraction of a second. "Then tell me," he said quietly. "Who are you now?"
Emma hesitated. Her throat tightened. How could she explain the truth that she wasn't supposed to be alive, that she'd been given another chance for reasons she didn't yet understand?
"I'm the woman who survived your betrayal," she said finally. "And I'm the woman who's going to find out why I was meant to die."
Adrian stepped closer, his voice low. "You think I wanted that fire? You think I'd let anyone touch you if I'd known?"
Emma looked up, tears burning behind her eyes. "Then prove it. Tell me what really happened."
Daniel shook his head. "He can't. He doesn't remember everything."
Adrian turned sharply. "What did you say?"
Daniel met his gaze. "You were drugged that night. You were never supposed to make it to the mansion. Someone changed the plan."
A flash of confusion crossed Adrian's face. "Who?"
Daniel hesitated, his eyes darting toward the blackened remains of the staircase the very spot where Emma's life had ended. "Someone from inside your company. Someone close to your family."
Adrian's voice dropped to a growl. "Give me a name."
Daniel's expression darkened. "I can't. Not yet. If I do, you'll both be dead before sunrise."
The words hung in the cold night like a curse.
Emma's hands trembled. "You're saying this isn't over."
Daniel looked at her and there was something like sorrow in his eyes. "It never was."
A low rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. The moon disappeared behind thick clouds, and the ruins seemed to darken with it.
Adrian ran a hand through his hair, pacing. "This doesn't make sense. If someone wanted her gone, why bring her back?"
Daniel's gaze flicked to Emma. "That's what you should be asking her."
Emma froze. "What do you mean?"
He took a deep breath. "You said you wanted to know why you were alive. Maybe it wasn't fate, Emma. Maybe it was someone's design."
Her breath caught. "You think someone brought me back on purpose?"
Daniel nodded slowly. "Someone powerful and dangerous enough to play with life and death."
Adrian's expression hardened. "You're losing your mind."
Daniel's tone was deadly calm. "Am I? Then explain why her medical records from that night vanished. Why her body was never found. Why she has memories that don't match the evidence."
Adrian turned to Emma, his voice suddenly rough. "Is this true?"
Emma's heart pounded. "I don't know what's true anymore."
The thunder grew louder. A cold wind whipped through the ruins, scattering ashes across the ground.
Daniel stepped back into the shadows. "I can't stay. They'll track me if I do."
"Daniel—" Emma began, but he was already turning away.
"Find the truth before it finds you first," he said softly. "And Emma…" He looked over his shoulder. "Not everyone who says they love you wants you alive."
Then he was gone swallowed by the night.
Adrian stood silent for a long moment, his face pale under the moonlight. "You shouldn't trust him."
Emma crossed her arms. "I don't trust you either."
Something flickered in his eyes pain, guilt, something deeper. "Then maybe you should start asking yourself why you're still drawn to me."
Her breath caught, but she refused to look away. "Because I want answers. That's all."
Adrian's lips curved in a faint, bitter smile. "Liar."
Lightning flashed, illuminating the ruins for a heartbeat and in that instant, Emma saw something behind him. A shadow. A movement.
"Adrian," she whispered. "We're not alone."
Before he could turn, a gunshot rang out sharp and echoing across the night.
Adrian pulled her down just as the bullet shattered a stone pillar behind them.
Emma's scream was lost in the thunder.
When the echo faded, there was only silence and the faint glow of headlights retreating into the darkness.
Adrian held her close, his heartbeat racing against hers. "They found us," he said through gritted teeth.
Emma stared at the smoking ruins, her pulse pounding. Somewhere, deep down, she knew Daniel was right.
The past wasn't finished with her yet.
And whatever had brought her back… was coming to collect its price.