The storm didn't stop until dawn.
Emma sat by the cracked window of the abandoned cabin, her hands wrapped around a chipped mug of lukewarm tea. The rain had finally eased, but her heartbeat hadn't. Every sound outside a branch creaking, the wind sighing made her flinch.
Adrian had been silent for hours. He sat near the door, his jacket discarded, shirt half-unbuttoned, and eyes fixed on the dying fire like it held the answers he needed. The orange glow made his features look sharper, colder like the man she used to love and hate all at once.
"You should rest," he said quietly.
"I can't."
He glanced at her then, and for a moment, something like concern flickered across his expression. "You're shaking."
Emma forced a small laugh. "I've been shot at before."
His jaw tightened. "Not while you were with me."
The air between them shifted. Emma looked away, her voice trembling. "That doesn't make it better."
Adrian leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You think I wanted any of this? You think I enjoy watching you live in fear because of mistakes I can't undo?"
She didn't answer. She couldn't. Because deep down, she didn't know what to believe anymore.
He stood and moved toward her, slow but certain. "Emma."
"Don't." Her voice cracked. "Don't come closer. I can't think when you do that."
He stopped, hands at his sides, chest rising and falling with quiet restraint. "You're not the only one haunted by that night."
Her eyes lifted, meeting his. "Then tell me what you're hiding, Adrian. Tell me why Daniel said you were drugged. Tell me what really happened before everything burned."
Adrian's face hardened, his gaze distant. "I don't remember much. Just flashes. I woke up in my car, half-conscious. My driver was gone. The mansion was already in flames when I got there." He swallowed. "I thought you were inside. I tried to get in, but the guards stopped me."
Emma's heart twisted. "So you just… left?"
"I didn't," he said sharply. "Someone pulled me out before the roof collapsed. I blacked out. When I woke up, the fire was out, and you were… gone." His voice broke on the last word.
For a long time, neither of them spoke. The fire crackled weakly, and the rain outside softened into mist.
Emma finally whispered, "You didn't look for me."
Adrian looked up sharply. "You think I didn't try? I turned the city upside down. I had every detective, every connection I had looking for answers. But there was nothing no body, no trace, no closure."
Her eyes burned. "Closure?" She stood, her hands trembling. "I died, Adrian! I died because someone wanted me gone, and all you wanted was closure?"
He took a step toward her. "Don't twist this—"
"Then tell me who it was!" she snapped. "Tell me who did it!"
"I don't know!" His voice roared through the cabin. "That's what's killing me."
The words hung heavy, raw, and honest. Emma froze, her breath catching. For the first time since she'd come back, she saw it the guilt in his eyes. The pain that wasn't just his own.
He lowered his head. "If I had known… I would've burned the world to save you."
Something in her chest cracked. It wasn't forgiveness not yet but it was something dangerously close.
The fire sputtered, throwing shadows across the walls. Emma sat down again, her anger slowly giving way to exhaustion. "Daniel said someone inside your company was involved."
Adrian nodded slowly. "There are only three people who could've had that kind of access. My stepmother, my half-brother, and…" He hesitated.
"And?"
He looked up at her, his voice low. "And your father."
Emma froze. "That's impossible."
Adrian's eyes didn't waver. "He was on the guest list that night, but he never showed. His security pass was used an hour before the fire started."
Her chest tightened. "You're saying my father—"
"I'm saying someone used his name," Adrian said quietly. "Or he was part of something bigger. Something neither of us understood back then."
Emma's world tilted. Memories flashed her father's worried eyes the night before the wedding, his sudden trip overseas, the way he'd begged her not to trust Adrian's family.
Could it be true?
The air felt heavy again.
Adrian crouched down in front of her. "Emma… we can't fight this alone anymore."
She looked up, her voice barely a whisper. "You really think I'll trust you after everything?"
His gaze softened. "No. But you'll need me before this is over."
She wanted to argue, to scream that she didn't need anyone. But when his hand brushed hers just for a second she didn't pull away.
Because beneath all the lies, all the pain, there was something that refused to die.
The silence stretched between them, fragile and electric.
Then, a soft beeping cut through the air. Adrian reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his phone the screen glowing with a single message:
Unknown Number: You shouldn't have gone back to the ruins. Now both of you are targets.
Emma's blood ran cold. "They're watching us."
Adrian looked at her, his expression dark. "No they're warning us."
"Why?" she whispered.
He exhaled slowly. "Because whoever they are… they don't want you dead yet."