The elevator exploded.
Not fire.
Not smoke.
Just a deafening metallic scream as bullets shredded the steel doors.
Ethan shoved Sophia to the ground.
Glass rained from the ceiling.
The penthouse alarms erupted into chaos.
"They're here," Ethan said.
Not fear.
Fact.
Sophia's ears rang as more gunfire tore through the hallway. The guards didn't even get a chance to shout.
Silenced.
Professional.
Marcus had sent cleaners.
Ethan dragged Sophia behind the marble kitchen island and slid a second gun into her shaking hands.
"Safety's off," he said. "Don't think. Just shoot."
"I've never—"
"You have now."
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Confident.
A shadow crossed the broken doorway.
Ethan fired first.
The man dropped instantly.
Another came through the window.
Rappelling cable still attached.
Sophia pulled the trigger.
The recoil slammed her wrist.
The assassin fell backward into the night.
Her breath hitched.
"I shot him," she whispered.
"You saved us," Ethan corrected.
More footsteps.
Too many.
Ethan checked the ammo.
Three bullets left.
He looked at Sophia.
She understood without words.
This was it.
The power cut.
Darkness swallowed the penthouse.
Only the city lights below flickered through shattered glass.
A voice echoed from the hall.
Calm.
Amused.
"You should've chosen wisely," it said.
Marcus.
He wasn't supposed to be here.
Ethan stood slowly.
"If you want me," he called out, "come get me."
A chuckle.
Then—
Gunfire.
Ethan shoved Sophia toward the emergency stairwell.
"Run!" he shouted.
She didn't argue.
Didn't look back.
She ran.
Barefoot.
Bleeding.
Crying.
Alive.
Behind her, the penthouse turned into a battlefield.
Shots.
Shouts.
Silence.
The stairwell door slammed open.
Sophia stumbled down the steps, vision blurred with tears.
"Ethan…" she whispered.
No answer.
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
She answered with trembling hands.
Marcus's voice filled her ear.
"He's still breathing," he said casually.
"For now."
Sophia stopped moving.
Ice filled her veins.
"What do you want?" she choked.
A pause.
Then—
"You," he said.
The line went dead.
Sophia stood alone in the stairwell.
And understood the truth.
This was never about destroying Ethan.
It was about owning her.
And Ethan had just paid the price.
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The war just took its first blood.