Zayden
The building loomed like a ghost—abandoned at night, dead silent.
I shoved through the lobby doors, my heart thundering against my ribs. The elevator panel on the ground floor blinked erratically.
43rd floor. That's where the fake meeting said she'd be.
"Elena!" I shouted as I hammered the 'UP' button.
No answer.
I turned to the maintenance door, broke the lock with the tire iron from my trunk, and climbed into the shaft.
Every floor I passed, I called her name.
When I finally reached the 43rd, the sight made my blood freeze.
The elevator car was stalled—halfway between floors. I could see her through the crack. Slumped against the wall. Pale. Still.
"Elena!"
Nothing.
I yanked the emergency latch open, tearing skin on metal. Sparks flew. I reached in, grabbed her hand—
She didn't move.
"Stay with me, baby," I whispered, voice cracking. "Don't do this. Not now."
Her lips parted. A faint sound escaped.
"…Zayden…"
My chest collapsed.
She was alive—but barely.
---
Noah
By the time I arrived at the hospital, she was already hooked up to machines again.
Zayden sat by her bed, holding her hand like a lifeline, blood on his knuckles and his shirt torn from climbing the shaft.
"She wasn't breathing at first," he muttered. "Her heart—stopped for a second."
I sank into the chair beside him. "Someone tried to kill her."
He didn't even flinch. "Celeste."
"I confirmed it," I said. "The elevator logs were wiped manually. The fake email was sent from an IP address traced back to her condo's Wi-Fi."
Zayden's eyes burned. "I'll ruin her."
---
Celeste
She didn't expect the world to turn so quickly.
But the news spread like wildfire.
Security footage of her entering the building hours before the trap. A digital trail connecting her to Elena's tampered medication. And a tear-streaked Elena, regaining consciousness, whispering her name like a curse.
Celeste tried to disappear. But the press was already clawing.
And Zayden?
He showed up at her apartment the next morning.
"You wanted her gone?" he growled, slamming her against the wall. "Congratulations. She flatlined last night."
Tears streamed down her face. "You were mine! You always were—"
"I was never yours," he snapped. "And now? You're done."
---
Elena
I woke to the sound of soft crying.
Zayden sat at my bedside, shoulders shaking.
I reached for his hand.
"I'm here," I whispered.
He looked up, eyes red. "You scared me."
"I was scared too."
"I'm sorry," he said, voice cracking. "For every second I wasn't there."
"You were there," I smiled weakly. "You always come."
He pulled me into his arms, holding me like I'd slip away again.
"I love you," he murmured. "We have time. And we're spending every damn second together."
---