The words on the photograph seemed to burn into Rachel's mind.
You're running out of time, Rachel.
She stared at the picture, her fingers trembling just enough for Lukas to notice.
He gently took it from her before she could accidentally crumple it.
"This was taken today," he said quietly.
Rachel nodded.
"My office."
"The twenty-second floor."
Lukas looked at the angle of the photograph.
"It wasn't taken from the street."
Rachel's brows knitted together.
"It couldn't have been."
He studied the image more closely. The reflection on the glass, the slight downward angle, the position of Rachel's desk...
"It was taken from another building."
Rachel looked at him.
"The Westbridge Tower."
She knew immediately.
"It faces my office."
Lukas looked up.
"You know the building?"
"My company owns the top ten floors."
His eyes widened.
"So whoever took this..."
"...had access to your property."
The realization settled over both of them like a heavy blanket.
This wasn't random.
It wasn't someone lurking outside the gates.
It was someone who understood Rachel's life.
Someone who knew her routine.
Someone who had been close enough to watch her without raising suspicion.
Rachel folded her arms tightly.
"We're going there tomorrow morning."
"No."
She looked at Lukas in surprise.
"No?"
"We're going tonight."
"It's almost midnight."
"And that's exactly why."
"If someone was there today, there's a chance they left something behind."
Rachel hesitated.
For the first time since they'd signed the contract, she wasn't thinking like a CEO.
She was thinking like someone being hunted.
She slowly nodded.
"Fine."
"I'll call the driver."
Lukas shook his head.
"We're taking my car."
"Why?"
"If someone is watching you, they'll expect your usual security detail."
A faint smile crossed Rachel's lips.
"You're getting smarter."
"I had a good teacher."
For the first time that night, she almost laughed.
Almost.
Twenty-five minutes later, Lukas parked across the street from Westbridge Tower.
The massive glass skyscraper stood silent beneath the moonlight.
Most of the lights had already gone out.
Rachel adjusted the hood of her coat.
"Security should still be inside."
"They know you?"
"They know the owner."
Together they crossed the street.
The night guard looked up in surprise.
"Miss Hawthorne?"
"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting—"
"I need access to the observation deck."
"At this hour?"
"It's important."
The guard hesitated before swiping his access card.
The elevator doors slid open.
Neither of them spoke during the ride.
The higher they climbed, the quieter everything became.
When the doors finally opened, a cool breeze swept across the rooftop terrace.
The city stretched endlessly before them, glowing beneath thousands of lights.
Rachel walked straight to the railing.
She looked across the street.
There it was.
Her office.
The lights were off now, but the distance was perfect.
Whoever had taken the photograph had stood exactly here.
Lukas followed her gaze.
"They planned this."
Rachel nodded.
"They knew where I'd be standing."
He searched the terrace carefully.
Nothing.
No camera.
No footprints.
Then...
Something caught his eye.
Near one of the benches lay a tiny silver object.
He crouched down and picked it up.
"A memory card."
Rachel hurried over.
"You found something?"
He turned it over in his hand.
"It looks like it belongs in a camera."
Rachel's expression hardened.
"Don't put it in your phone."
"Why?"
"It could be encrypted."
"Or worse."
He understood immediately.
"If they expected someone to find it..."
"...it could contain malware."
Rachel nodded.
"We'll have IT examine it."
As Lukas slipped the card into his pocket, a metallic clang echoed behind them.
Both turned instantly.
The rooftop door was slowly closing.
"Did you hear that?" Lukas whispered.
Rachel nodded.
They moved toward the entrance.
The door slammed shut.
Lukas grabbed the handle.
Locked.
"What?"
He pulled harder.
Nothing.
Rachel reached for her phone.
"No signal."
Lukas checked his own.
The same.
Someone had jammed the reception.
A low chuckle drifted through the darkness.
Not close.
But close enough.
Rachel instinctively stepped behind Lukas.
He noticed.
Without thinking, he moved slightly in front of her.
Shielding her.
The chuckle came again.
Then a distorted voice echoed from somewhere above.
"You weren't supposed to come tonight."
Lukas looked around.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Only silence.
Then...
Every light on the rooftop suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Rachel instinctively grabbed Lukas's arm.
"Lukas..."
"I'm here."
"Don't let go."
"I won't."
Their breathing was the only sound between them.
Then footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was walking toward them.
One step.
Then another.
Lukas's pulse thundered in his ears.
He could barely make out a silhouette moving through the darkness.
Tall.
Wearing black.
The same hooded figure from the mansion.
The stranger stopped only a few meters away.
For several long seconds...
No one moved.
Then the figure spoke.
"You should have listened."
His voice was distorted by some kind of electronic device.
Rachel forced herself to speak.
"Who are you?"
The stranger laughed.
"A question you've been asking for six years."
Lukas stepped forward.
"What do you want?"
The figure tilted his head.
"I don't want anything."
"I came to give you one final chance."
"Stop searching for Ethan."
Rachel's grip on Lukas's arm tightened.
"I'll never stop."
The figure sighed.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Before either of them could react, he tossed a small object across the rooftop.
It landed at Rachel's feet.
A phone.
The screen lit up by itself.
A video began to play.
Rachel gasped.
On the screen...
A young man sat tied to a chair in a dimly lit room.
His face was bruised.
His clothes were torn.
But there was no mistaking who he was.
"Ethan..."
Tears filled Rachel's eyes.
The young man slowly looked into the camera.
His lips moved.
"Rachel..."
The video cut to black.
The hooded figure smiled.
"You wanted proof he was alive."
"Now you have it."
Before Lukas could chase him, a deafening explosion erupted near the rooftop entrance.
Smoke filled the air.
By the time it cleared...
The stranger was gone.
Only the phone remained.
And for the first time in six years...
Rachel knew Ethan was alive.
But she also knew something far more terrifying.
Someone had been keeping him alive...
Just to control her.