The shot rang out in the air like a cry that would not end.
Ava's ears rang as she staggered backwards, the flashlight dropping from her hand. It rolled on the ground, its light slicing through the dark until it rested on her father's body.
"Dad!" she screamed, dropping to her knees.
Blood spread across his shirt, dark and heavy. His breath came in short, uneven bursts. His hand reached for her trembling one, smearing it red.
"Stay with me," she whispered. "Please, stay"
He shook his head weakly. "Ava… listen." His voice was barely a whisper. "You have to find your brother. Don't stop. No matter what they tell you."
Tears stung her eyes. "We'll go together"
He coughed, blood spraying from the corner of his mouth. "Promise me."
"I promise," she sobbed.
The gunman took a step closer behind them, his shadow lengthening on the wall. "Touching," he said, his voice icy. "But this is where it ends."
Ava's grief sharpened into rage. Her father's fingers tightened once then dropped away.
Something inside her broke.
She seized the flashlight, swinging it with every ounce of strength she possessed. It made contact with his wrist, the gun clattering to the ground. He cursed, reaching for her, but Ava was already running down the tunnel.
Her breath burned her throat as she sprinted turn upon turn, pipes shrieking overhead. Somewhere behind her, the man bellowed into a radio. "She's heading for the west wing tunnels! Close them off!"
She didn't care. She could think of nothing but Adrian. He was out there, alive, and she wasn't going to lose him too.
Finally, she reached a metal door with a keypad. Her shaking fingers fumbled over the keys until she remembered the code her father had punched in earlier—0421. The door hissed open.
A dark hallway stretched out beyond, lined with glass panels. Behind one of them, she saw him.
Adrian.
He was slumped against the wall, bruised but alive. His wrists were chained, but when he lifted his head, their eyes met and for the first time in years, Ava dared to feel a glimmer of hope.
"Ava?" His voice cracked. "You're real?"
She rushed to his side, scrambling for something to unlock the chains. "I thought you were dead."
"I thought they took you," he whispered. "What happened?"
Her throat tightened. "Dad's dead."
Adrian's face crumpled, pain playing behind his eyes. "Then it's just us."
She nodded, her chin trembling. "And whoever's next."
Before she could get out another word, the intercom sprang to life soft, mocking.
"You can't save him, Ava. You couldn't save your father. You won't save yourself."
Ava froze. The voice wasn't the gunman's.
It was a woman's.
Adrian's head snapped up. "No," he breathed, his voice shaking. "That's impossible."
Ava stared at him. "Who is she?"
He hesitated, fear sweeping across his face. "Our mother."
Ava stared at the speaker, her breath caught between shock and horror.
Her mother's voice soft, serene, and unmistakable filled the hallway like a ghost.
"You shouldn't have come here," the voice said. "Neither of you were meant to find this place."
Ava's knees faltered. "That's not possible. You"
Adrian's hoarse, trembling voice sliced through hers. "She's alive, Ava. I've heard that voice before."
Ava whirled on him. "What do you mean?"
He looked away, shame waltzing across his bruised face. "I didn't tell you everything. When I initially began looking into Dad's disappearance, I got a call one evening… from her. She said to back off. She said the truth would destroy us.
Ava's heart was racing. "You knew? And you didn't tell me?"
Adrian's eyes gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights. "I did not want to believe it was true. I figured someone was impersonating her voice."
"I told you both to stay hidden," the voice interrupted, now colder. "Your father ignored me. And now he's dead."
Ava stepped closer to the speaker, anger burning up her fear. "Gone because of you! What are you doing? Why are you doing this?"
There was a long silence. Then, "Because the only way to keep you safe… is to keep you apart."
Ava slammed her fist into the wall. "You're lying!"
Adrian fought against his cuffs. "Let us out, Mom! We deserve to know the truth!"
The intercom crackled then silence.
Ava looked at him, breath trembling. "We're not leaving here without answers."
She scanned the room, noticing a small maintenance panel near the floor. Her father's last words echoed in her head 'Find your brother. Don't stop.'
She pried the panel open and yanked out the wires. Sparks flew. The glass door clicked.
Adrian pushed it open, stumbling through. His hands were red and raw, but he grabbed her in a desperate, tight embrace. "I thought I'd lost you too," he whispered.
Ava hugged him tightly, the tears finally breaking free. "We have to move. She's watching."
They pulled apart, glancing up and down the corridor. Red lights began flashing alarms wailing in slow, pulsing beats.
Adrian's face furrowed in a frown. "She's sealing off the exits."
They ran down the hall, dodging the sliding steel barriers as the alarms wailed. At the end of the hall, a narrow stairway rose toward faint daylight.
Ava grasped the banister, her lungs burning. "Come on!"
Halfway up, Adrian stopped, spotting something through a shattered window a figure on the upper walkway, black clothing, hair streaming back, calm as stone.
Ava followed his gaze. Her heart nearly stopped.
It was her mother.
Not on a screen this time. Not a voice.
Alive. Real.
She looked the same polished, cold, and achingly familiar. The same woman who used to hum lullabies by their bedside now looked at them like strangers.
"Ava. Adrian," she said tonelessly, her voice eerily calm. "I told your father this would be the result. He wouldn't listen."
Ava's voice trembled. "You allowed them to murder him."
Her mother's eyes softened slightly. "No. I saved him once. But I couldn't save him again."
"Then save us," Adrian spoke up, stepping forward.
Her face hardened. "I am. You just don't know how yet."
They had no chance to react before tactical-gear-clad men appeared behind her.
"Take them," she ordered.
Ava's scream echoed down the stairwell as armed hands seized her. Adrian fought, but one punch to his ribs had him crashing down beside her.
The last thing Ava saw before the world melted away was her mother's face peaceful, almost apologetic as she whispered,
"You were never supposed to know the truth."
Ava's head throbbed as she gradually came back to consciousness.
The air was cold, the scent of antiseptic stinging in her lungs. When she opened her eyes, white light burned her vision. She tried to move, but her wrists were held by gentle restraints.
She was not alone.
Across the room, Adrian was seated on a chair, head bowed, shirt stained with blood from the fight. As he lifted his head, she saw the same query in his eyes the same fear.
"Where are we?" Ava whispered.
Adrian inclined his head toward the glass wall. "Some kind of observation room. They've been watching us for hours."
Ava tugged at the straps, the leather biting into her skin. "We need to get out before"
The door slid open.
Their mother stepped in.
Dressed in a white coat and black pants, she looked almost untouched by the years. Her hair was pinned neatly back, her face peaceful. But there was something unusual in her eyes a grief that wasn't a part of the woman they knew.
"Please," Ava said, her voice breaking. "Just tell us what this is. What do you want from us?"
Their mother stopped a few feet from them. "I was trying to keep you safe. But you were never supposed to come back here."
Adrian's voice went cold. "Keep us safe? You let Dad die."
She drew a deep breath, calming herself. "Your father did things that endangered everything. He tried to undo what we set in motion."
Ava's stomach twisted. "What did you set in motion?"
Her mother's eyes flicked, once, to the security camera in the corner. Then she reached up and turned it off. The soft hum of the red light stopped.
What I'm going to say can't leave this room," she whispered. "Your father and I were part of something a long time ago a group built on power and influence. We thought we could use it for good. But the people who ran it… they were vicious. When your father tried to expose them, they came for us."
Adrian's fists clenched. "And you stayed with them?
"I lived," she bit out. Then, more softly, "Someone had to keep you two safe. They would have killed you."
Ava shook her head, her eyes blazing with tears. "Safe? You call this safe? We grew up in prison, under watch, lied to. You weren't keeping us safe you were keeping them safe."
Her mother's mask slipped for the first time. "You don't know the power they have."
Adrian leaned forward. "Then tell us."
For a moment, she looked at them as if weighing her choices. Then she walked closer, lowering her voice. "There's a file one your father left behind. It's hidden in the penthouse, beneath the old piano. That file can destroy them. It's the reason they killed him."
Ava's pulse quickened. "Then let us go. We'll find it."
Her mother's jaw tightened. "If you go back, they'll kill you too. Already they're watching your every move."
Adrian stood, his voice low but determined. "Then let them. We're not in hiding anymore."
Their mother's eyes met his, a glimmer of pride playing there. "You've inherited your father's stubbornness," she murmured. "And that will save you. or get you killed.".
She backed towards the door, flipping the camera back on. Her face went back to its neutral setting, cool and detached.
"To the rest of you," she said coldly, "you're still missing. I suggest you remain that way."
"Mom" Ava's voice cracked. "Please don't go away again."
Their mother's hand paused on the door. For one fragile moment, her shoulders trembled. Then, not looking at them, she said softly,
"I never fell out of love with you. But love isn't going to save you from what's ahead."
The door closed, sealing them in.
Ava faced Adrian, pulse racing. "We're returning to the penthouse."
He nodded. "Then we locate the file. And we put an end to this together."
Behind the glass, their mother looked on through yet another screen, eyes moist with what she could not reveal to them. She whispered to herself, barely audible,
"Sorry… but they'll never let you leave alive."