Elara ended the call and stood frozen in the middle of her room.
Outside her window, Alex was waiting at midnight with ice cream.
This felt ridiculous.
She grabbed the nearest hoodie and pulled it over her nightgown before quietly slipping into the hallway.
The estate was mostly asleep. Mostly, which meant she moved carefully.
Five minutes later, she finally pushed open the back door and stepped into the cool night air.
The garden lights cast soft pools of gold across the stone pathways.
Near the rear gate, Alex immediately spotted her; his face actually brightened.
Like he hadn't been standing outside a mansion for twenty minutes wondering if security was going to arrest him, "There she is."
Elara walked toward him, folding her arms "You are insane."
Alex nodded "That's been medically confirmed."
"You came here."
"You told me to stay there."
"Most people would assume I was joking."
"You clearly don't know how seriously I take instructions."
Despite herself, she laughed.
Alex held up the grocery bag triumphantly "I brought supplies."
"What supplies?"
He opened the bag. Inside were two tubs of ice cream, three chocolate bars, and a package of gummy bears.
Elara stared "What is this?"
"An emotional support kit."
"That's not a thing."
"It is now."
She shook her head "You bought all this?"
"I panicked in the supermarket."
"Over what?"
"I wasn't sure what sadness required."
Elara laughed again, a real laugh, not the polite kind she used at parties.
Not the practised kind she gave reporters, investors, and people who expected things from her. A genuine one.
Alex looked pleased with himself "Good."
"What?"
"That."
"What?"
"Your laugh I miss it when I am away from you."
His answer was so straightforward that she didn't know what to do with it, so she looked away.
Alex pretended not to notice. Instead, he sat down on the low stone wall near the gate and handed her one of the ice cream tubs.
"What flavour?"
"Chocolate."
"Excellent choice."
"Because you bought it."
"Exactly."
They opened the containers for a few moments; they ate in comfortable silence.
The city hummed faintly in the distance. The air smelled like freshly cut grass.
For once, Elara was feeling peace.
She was simply sitting outside with a boy who had appeared at her gate carrying emergency ice cream.
The simplicity of it felt strangely precious.
Alex glanced toward the estate "You know, I still can't believe people actually live here."
"It's a house."
"It's a palace."
"It isn't."
"There are approximately thousands of windows."
"There are not."
"There are."
"There really aren't."
Alex pointed dramatically "I got lost looking at the front gate."
"You can't get lost at a gate."
"I can."
"How?"
She rolled her eyes.
Alex smiled. The smile lingered. Then he asked, "Can I tell you something?"
Elara immediately looked suspicious "That sentence never ends well."
"It's not bad."
"That's exactly what people say before saying something bad."
Alex considered that "Fair point."
He scraped his spoon against the container, then shrugged "When I first met you, I thought you'd be impossible to talk to."
Elara blinked "Why?"
"You seemed..." He searched for the right word.
"Important."
She stared "Important?"
"Yeah."
"What does that even mean?"
"You know."
"No."
"You looked like someone who had her life together."
Elara laughed so hard she nearly dropped her spoon.
Alex looked offended "What's funny?"
"That might be the most inaccurate thing anyone has ever said about me."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
Alex studied her for a moment, then smiled "Good."
Elara frowned "Good?"
"Yeah."
"Why is that good?"
"Because perfect people are exhausting."
For a second, she just raised one eyebrow, then she smiled like a fool again because she can't control her smile when he's near her.
The kind that happened without permission.
Alex noticed.
He simply leaned back against the stone wall, took another bite of ice cream, and started telling her a story about accidentally setting off a fire alarm in his apartment building while trying to make pasta.
And somewhere in the middle of the story, Elara realised she wasn't checking the time for the first time in a very long while; she wasn't waiting for the moment she would have to leave.
She was just enjoying being there.
Alaric had just stepped into the lobby of Virement Apex when his phone vibrated. Maria White.
A frown immediately crossed his face. It was almost three in the morning.
Maria wasn't the type to call people in the middle of the night.
He answered immediately
Alaric had just stepped into the lobby of Virement Apex when his phone vibrated.
Maria White. A frown immediately crossed his face It was almost three in the morning.
Maria wasn't the type to call people in the middle of the night.
He answered immediately, "Maria?"
For a second there was nothing, then a shaky breath, not tired or emotional. Afraid.
Alaric straightened "Maria."
"Mr Virement..."
Something was wrong he could hear it instantly. Fear had a sound and Maria White sounded terrified.
"What happened?"
"I think somebody was here."
His hand tightened around the phone "What do you mean?"
"I heard knocking."
"When?"
"Just now."
Alaric glanced toward the dark street "Did you open the door?"
"No."
Good. At least she still had common sense.
"I checked."
A pause "There wasn't anybody there."
Alaric frowned "What do you mean there wasn't anybody there?"
"The knocking stopped."
Her voice trembled "I listened for footsteps."
"No elevator."
"No doors opening."
"Nobody left."
A cold feeling settled into his stomach "Lock the door."
"It is locked."
"Check again."
He heard her moving, the sound of locks turning.
One Two Three.
"There."
"Good."
Alaric turned around and headed back toward his car "I'm coming."
"No, it's probably nothing."
"Maria."
She immediately fell silent.
"I'll be there soon."
A pause then quietly, "Okay."
The engine roared to life; streetlights flashed across the windshield for a while, neither spoke.
Then Maria suddenly said, "I remembered something."
His attention sharpened immediately "What?"
"The doctor."
Alaric's grip tightened on the steering wheel "What about him?"
"I remembered where I saw him."
His pulse accelerated "Where?"
A long silence followed Then "At Saint Agnes."
Alaric's heart skipped "The orphanage?"
"Yes."
Her voice was distant lost inside memory "I saw him there before the fire."
Alaric's foot pressed harder against the accelerator "Maria, think carefully."
"I'm trying."
"Did he work there?"
"I don't know."
"What was his name?"
"I don't remember. I can be wrong, but it was written, Dr Ethan Mer.... "
She stopped abruptly.
Alaric frowned "Maria What was the full name ?"
No answer. Only breathing fast now
Uneven "What is it?"
A pause then "Someone's here." The words came out barely above a whisper.
Alaric's heart slammed against his ribs "What?"
"I can hear breathing."
Every muscle in his body locked "Where?"
"I don't know."
Fear entered her voice Real fear the kind that strips everything else away.
"It sounds close."
Alaric accelerated the speedometer, climbing. "What room are you in?"
"The living room."
"Go to your bedroom."
"Maria."
Another whisper "I don't think they're moving."
The blood drained from his face because suddenly he understood.
The knocking. No footsteps leaving. No doors opening. No elevator.
Someone hadn't been outside. Someone had already been inside.
Listening the entire time "Maria."
His voice became deadly calm "Listen to me carefully."
Silence.
"Do not speak."
A pause. Then "Why?"
Alaric gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles whitened.
Because if she could hear breathing, then whoever was inside could hear her too.
And they had just spent the last five minutes discussing the fire.
The doctor Saint Agnes Everything.
"Maria"
A sound interrupted him, not from her, from somewhere else.
A slow exhale very close to the phone.
Not Maria's.
Alaric's entire body went cold. For one terrible second, neither spoke.
Then Maria whispered "Mr. Virement..."
Her voice shook "I don't think I'm alone."
The line exploded with noise.
A scream.
The crash of something hitting the floor.
The phone clattering away.
"MARIA!"
Alaric shouted. Static. Heavy footsteps. A struggle
Then silence- complete silence.
The call disconnected.
Alaric stared at the screen. No.
Immediately, he called back. No answer.
The car flew through the sleeping streets, and for the first time in years,
Alaric was afraid of what he was about to find.
His guilt started building because of him, another person lost her life