The Last Visit
Voss's POV
The city was still wet from the storm.
Water dripped from rooftops, pooling in the cracks of the deserted street as Voss's black car rolled to a stop in front of a quiet townhouse — one he knew too well.
He stepped out, his shoes splashing against the pavement.
The lights inside were dim, but one curtain flickered — someone was awake.
He didn't knock.
The lock gave way with a sharp twist of his wrist.
Inside, the air smelled of lavender and stale coffee. Paintings lined the walls — old memories of a woman he'd once called his wife.
He followed the faint hum of a song coming from the back room.
Elise Hayes stood near the window, her shoulders wrapped in a shawl.
She didn't turn when she heard the door.
"I wondered when you'd come," she said softly.
Voss's voice was low, almost a growl. "You should've been dead hours ago."
She smiled faintly — bitterly. "You've been trying to kill me for twenty years, Vincent. You're losing your touch."
He stepped closer, the sound of his boots echoing on the wooden floor. "You betrayed me."
Elise turned then, her eyes calm but tired. "I saved our daughter. There's a difference."
Voss's jaw tightened. "You call this saving her? You turned her against me."
"I gave her the truth," Elise shot back. "The one thing you could never stand."
He slammed his hand against the wall beside her, inches from her face. "The truth is that she's mine. She carries my blood, my name—"
"She carries my strength," Elise interrupted, her voice shaking but fierce. "And she'll never become you."
For a moment, silence filled the room — heavy and poisonous.
Voss's eyes darkened. "You've always been naïve, Elise. You think love protects people? Love is weakness. It makes you hesitate."
"And hate," she whispered, "makes you destroy everything you once loved."
Voss's expression flickered — pain, maybe — but it vanished just as quickly.
He drew his gun slowly, pressing the barrel against her chest.
"You should've stayed dead."
Elise didn't flinch. "Then pull the trigger, Vincent. End it, if you still know how to feel anything."
His finger twitched.
And then—
A voice broke the silence.
"Don't bother. I'll do it for you."
Both turned sharply.
At the doorway stood Ivy — drenched from the rain, eyes wild and hollow.
Her hand gripped a silver pistol, steady despite the tremor in her jaw.
Voss's eyes narrowed. "You again."
Ivy smirked, though her voice cracked. "You took everything from me. You made me a monster… and she—"
She pointed the gun toward Elise. "She let you."
Elise's eyes widened. "Ivy, wait—"
"Don't!" Ivy shouted. "You think I don't know? You all played your parts. You lied. You used people like me to clean your mess."
Voss's tone turned cold. "Put the gun down."
"Or what?" Ivy's voice trembled. "You'll shoot me too? Just like Clara?"
The name hit the air like a curse.
Voss's expression hardened. "You killed her yourself."
"And who cares, you think I can't do same to both of you," Ivy spat.
The gun went off.
Once.
Then twice.
The first bullet struck Voss in the shoulder, spinning him back against the wall.
The second tore through Elise's chest, silencing her mid-step.
For a heartbeat, the world froze — the smell of gunpowder thick, the rain pounding against the roof.
Elise fell first, her hand reaching weakly toward the floor — toward nothing.
Voss staggered, clutching his wound, blood darkening his coat. He looked at Ivy with disbelief… and something like pity.
"You think this… ends with me?" he rasped.
Ivy's eyes filled with tears. "No. It ends with all of you."
She raised the gun again — but before she could fire, Voss lunged forward, slamming her against the wall. The weapon clattered to the ground.
He pressed his bloodied hand to her throat, voice hoarse. "You'll never be free of me."
Ivy gasped — then drove a hidden blade into his ribs.
Voss's eyes went wide. He staggered back, collapsing beside Elise's still body.
Ivy stood trembling, the rain outside now mixing with her tears.
She looked down at the two of them — the man and woman whose sins had burned everything she ever wanted.
"Monsters," she whispered. "Both of you."
She turned and walked out into the night, leaving the door wide open behind her.
Lightning flashed again, lighting the room one last time — two bodies lying side by side, the past finally ending where it began.
Ivy's POV
The night air was cold, slicing through her soaked clothes as she walked away from the townhouse.
Each step echoed on the empty street, the gun still warm in her hand.
Behind her, sirens were faint in the distance — too faint to stop her now.
She tossed the weapon into a nearby drain and kept walking.
By the time the police arrived, she was already at the docks.
A cargo ship rumbled in the mist, preparing to depart for the southern coast.
She handed a small envelope to the captain — thick with cash and no name attached.
He gave her a wary look. "You running from something?"
Ivy's lips curved faintly. "From everything, but this isn't over yet.... I'LL BE BACK."
She climbed aboard without another word.
As the ship drifted away from the harbor lights, she looked back at the city — its skyline fading behind fog and guilt.
Two people lay dead because of her.
Or so she thought.
---
Starling's POV
The next morning, the air smelled of smoke and rain.
Starling sat by the window of the Ashford estate's guest room, a mug of untouched tea cooling beside her.
Her phone buzzed — Rin calling.
She answered quickly. "Rin? What's wrong?"
On the other end, Rin's voice trembled. "Starling… it's Mom. She— she's gone."
Starling's heart sank. "What do you mean gone?"
Rin's breath hitched. "The news said there was a shooting. I saw the house— they said Voss is dead."
Starling froze, her hand tightening on the phone.
For a second, she couldn't breathe.
"Elise and… Voss?" she whispered.
Rin nodded, her voice breaking. "The police said both bodies were found inside, but… they didn't show pictures. Just that there was blood. So much blood."
Rin sniffed. "But… Starling?"
"Yes?"
"Why does it feel like this isn't over?"
Starling didn't answer.
She hung up, grabbed her coat, and rushed for the door.
---
At the Crime Scene
The street outside Elise's townhouse was swarming with police cars and reporters.
Yellow tape fluttered under the wind. Cameras flashed. Officers whispered.
Richard Ashford stood a few feet from the entrance, arms folded, face unreadable.
Starling walked up to him, her voice shaking. "Where is she?"
He met her gaze, quietly. "Inside."
She tried to move past him, but he stopped her gently. "You don't want to see it, Starling."
"I have to," she said, her voice cracking. "She's my mother."
After a long moment, Richard stepped aside.
Inside, the living room was a storm of broken glass and blood.
Two spots marked the floor where the paramedics had lifted the bodies — one by the window, one near the wall.
Elise's shawl was still there… torn, soaked in red.
Starling knelt beside it, clutching the fabric to her chest. Her tears fell silently, mixing with the rain that leaked through the broken roof.
"Elise Hayes was a good woman," one detective murmured nearby. "Didn't deserve this."
The other frowned, holding his report. "And the man?"
"They said it was Voss," the first replied. "But…"
"But what?"
"No body."
Starling's head snapped up.
"What did you say?" she asked, her voice trembling.
The detective hesitated. "There was blood everywhere — enough for a fatal wound — but no trace of the man himself. He's gone."
Her heart pounded. "Gone? As in—"
"As in disappeared," he said quietly. "Before we got here."
Richard's expression hardened. "So the devil's still breathing."
Starling stared at the empty space where her mother's killer should have been.
For a long moment, she couldn't move.
Somewhere deep inside, she could still feel him — that cold, lingering presence that haunted her every step.
She whispered under her breath, "He's not dead."
Outside, thunder rolled faintly again, far away but growing closer.
---
Rin's POV
Rin sat in the back seat of the car, eyes red from crying. The city rolled past the window — blurry, distant.
She held her phone tightly, replaying the last message from her mother.
"Stay with Starling. No matter what happens."
She looked up at the storm clouds gathering over the skyline.
"Don't worry, Mom," she whispered. "I'll protect her… this time."
But somewhere out there, in the cracks of the city and the shadows of the storm, someone was still watching — someone who should've been dead.
Voss's POV
The ocean wind stung his wound as the private jet lifted off from the runway.
Voss leaned back in his seat, his shoulder wrapped in blood-stained bandages, his skin pale but his eyes still sharp — cold as ever.
Across from him, Leon sat rigid, avoiding eye contact. The cabin smelled faintly of antiseptic and smoke.
"Status?" Voss's voice was rough but controlled.
Leon cleared his throat. "The police reached the house fifteen minutes after we left. They believe you're dead."
A faint smirk tugged at Voss's lips. "Then let them bury a ghost."
He glanced toward the window — the city lights shrinking beneath the clouds.
"Elise is gone," Leon said quietly. "You… shot her."
Voss's expression darkened. "She made her choice. And so did Ivy."
Leon hesitated. "Do you want us to find her?"
"No," Voss said. "She'll destroy herself faster than any bullet could."
He reached into his coat, pulling out a small, blood-spattered photograph — Starling, as a child, sitting in Elise's lap.
The corner was burned, the image faded, but he held it carefully, almost reverently.
"She thinks this ends with Elise," Voss murmured. "But it doesn't. Not yet."
Leon looked uneasy. "Sir… what's the next move?"
Voss's eyes flicked to the horizon — endless and gray.
"Regroup," he said simply. "We have allies overseas who owe me favors. The Ashfords think they've won. Let them."
He leaned his head back against the seat, exhaustion momentarily breaking through his calm exterior.
"When I return," he whispered, "there won't be a second warning."
The engines roared louder, swallowing his words as the jet disappeared into the clouds — leaving behind only silence, ashes, and ghosts.
---
Starling's POV
The rain had stopped, but the sky remained heavy — as if even heaven mourned.
The cemetery was quiet, lined with white lilies and gray stone.
Starling stood beside the open grave, her black coat fluttering in the wind. Elijah was beside her, silent, his hand resting on her shoulder.
The priest's voice was soft, carried away by the breeze.
Each word sounded distant, unreal.
When the coffin was lowered, something inside her broke.
Her mother — her strength, her last tie to innocence — was gone.
Rin sobbed quietly behind her, holding tightly to Matthew's hand for support.
Richard stood a few feet away, his expression unreadable, but his eyes glistened with restrained grief.
When the final handful of dirt hit the coffin lid, Starling stepped forward.
She knelt, pressing her palm against the cold earth.
Her voice trembled. "You spent your whole life protecting me, even when I didn't understand why. I thought you were weak for leaving him… but now I see you were the strongest of all."
Her tears fell silently. "I'll make it count, Mom. I swear it."
Elijah moved closer, kneeling beside her. "You don't have to face this alone."
She looked at him — her eyes red, but burning with quiet fire.
"Yes, I do," she whispered. "Because he's still out there."
The wind picked up again, rustling the trees around them.
In the distance, thunder rolled faintly — soft, almost like a warning.
Starling rose slowly, wiping her tears. She turned to the priest and nodded.
As everyone began to leave, she lingered a little longer, staring at the grave.
From far above, dark clouds drifted apart, revealing a thin shaft of light that fell over the flowers laid across the mound.
It felt like her mother's final goodbye.
She closed her eyes and whispered, "Rest now. I'll finish this."
---
Leon's POV
Hours later, on the other side of the world, Leon glanced at his reflection in the jet window.
Voss was asleep — or pretending to be.
Leon exhaled slowly. "You survived again," he muttered under his breath.
But in his gut, unease twisted like a knife.
For the first time, he wondered if helping Voss cheat death had been a mistake — one that would doom them all.
Outside, lightning flickered over the ocean, and the jet vanished into the storm.