Ethan ate like someone who hadn’t seen a real meal in days, while Alexander watched in silence. Not as a beggar—but as a possible answer.
“Finish up,” Alexander said, grabbing his coat. “You’re taking me to her.”
They left under a gray sky, the city fading from polished streets to broken pavement. Ethan guided the way, pressing his face to the window.
“Over there… past the bridge. Near the abandoned factories.”
The landscape turned bleak—rusted buildings, shattered glass, silence that felt wrong.
They stopped at an old factory, hollow and lifeless.
“She was here,” Ethan said, running ahead. “With the dog.”
Alexander followed, his heart pounding.
“Victoria!” he called. “Victoria!”
Only echoes answered.
Ethan pointed to a corner. “She stayed here.”
There was a plastic bowl… scraps of bread… and then—
A piece of fabric caught between bricks.
Alexander picked it up with trembling hands.
Blue silk. Floral embroidery.
He had given it to her.
He pressed it to his face.
Lavender.
“It’s her…” he whispered, collapsing to his knees.
Then a bark broke the silence.
A black dog emerged—thin, limping, but alive.
“Shadow…” Alexander breathed.
The dog ran to him, whining, tail wagging wildly. He dropped to the ground, embracing it, overcome.
But Victoria wasn’t there.
Shadow barked and ran toward a broken wall, urging them to follow.
Inside a small room, Alexander noticed something drawn on the wall—a symbol. A circle crossed by a line.
Their symbol.
“Danger. I’m moving.”
Below it was a metal box.
Inside—a note.
His hands shook as he read:
“Alexander, if you’re reading this, the boy found you. I didn’t die. I had to disappear. They’re after me. I discovered the truth—fraud, laundering. Don’t trust anyone. Especially Marcus. He caused the crash. I’m hurt. I’m heading to the riverside shed. If I don’t make it… I love you.”
Alexander read it again, rage replacing grief.
Marcus.
His lawyer. His closest ally.
A traitor.
“Sir…” Ethan whispered. “A car is coming.”
Alexander looked out.
Men. Armed.
“They followed us,” he said. “Ethan, listen to me. We’re getting out. Stay close. Do you trust me?”
Ethan nodded. “Yes.”
“Run.”
Darkness fell as they slipped through the factory, avoiding beams of light.
“I know you’re here,” Marcus’s voice echoed outside. “Give me the note and the boy.”
“Never,” Alexander muttered.
They escaped toward the river, running through brush and stone. Ethan struggled but didn’t stop. Shadow kept pace.