Chapter 46: The Empty Corridor

Alexander reached the hidden passage only seconds after Lena disappeared into the darkness.

He slammed into the wall, breath ragged, his chest heaving with panic as he searched the narrow space. His hands shook violently, fingertips scraping across the stone as he checked every inch for her.

“Lena…”

His voice cracked as he pushed deeper inside.

Nothing.

The corridor was empty.

Completely, devastatingly empty.

The only sign she’d been there was Mrs. Ward — lying on the floor, blood pooling beneath her. Her breaths were shallow, fading.

Alexander fell to his knees beside her, hands trembling as he pressed against her wound. “Mrs. Ward—Martha—look at me.”

Her eyelids fluttered. “A…Alex…”

“What happened? Where is she? Where did he take her?”

Mrs. Ward lifted a shaking hand, touching his cheek with weak fingers. “Elias… he took her… to save her…”

Alexander’s face twisted in anguish. “Save her? He’s been hunting her!”

“No,” she whispered. “He’s been… hunting the ones chasing her…”

Alexander froze.

Mrs. Ward coughed weakly, eyes swimming with tears. “He never wanted to hurt the child… only keep her away from the Circle… and from Marcus…”

Alexander’s stomach lurched. “Marcus?! My father’s partner?! He’s involved—?”

Her voice cracked. “The Circle is… moving. Elias knows more than he said… he—”

A violent cough cut her off, blood touching her lips.

Alexander grabbed her hand tightly. “Martha, stay with me. Don’t you dare leave me. Not now.”

She smiled faintly, old and sad. “I watched you grow… both of you… Elias loved you, Alex. He still does… in his way…”

Alexander looked away, pain tightening every muscle in his face. “He shot you.”

“He warned me,” she breathed. “He shot to wound… not kill.”

Alexander’s jaw clenched.

“He took her,” he whispered, voice shaking. “He took the one person I can’t lose.”

Mrs. Ward’s eyes softened. “Then get her back…”

Her hand slipped from his.

Her chest rose once more.

Then stilled.

Alexander bowed his head, forehead touching hers, grief ripping through him in brutal waves. “Thank you,” he whispered. “For everything.”

For a moment, he let himself break.

Just a moment.

Then he stood — and the grief hardened into something sharp.

Not despair.

Rage.

He wiped the blood from his hands on his shirt and turned toward the far exit of the corridor. Soldiers’ boots thundered overhead, the Circle sweeping room by room.

Alexander’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper:

“Elias… if you hurt her, I will kill you myself.”

He stalked into the darkness.

---

Meanwhile: Deep in the forest

Elias pulled Lena behind him, moving fast through the trees. His movements were silent, efficient — the walk of someone trained to disappear into shadows.

Lena stumbled but kept up, branches whipping her cheeks, cold wind slashing her tears away. Her chest ached with guilt and heartbreak.

“Slow down,” she gasped.

“No.”

“Elias—”

He turned sharply, grabbing her shoulders.

His face was inches from hers, breath harsh.

“You gave me your choice, Lena,” he said. “Don’t take it back now.”

She swallowed, throat burning. “I can’t just leave him.”

“You already did.”

The words hit her like a slap.

Lena shoved at his chest. “I didn’t choose you. I chose survival!”

“That’s enough,” Elias snapped. “Your emotions will get you killed. Stop thinking about him.”

Lena’s voice cracked. “I’m in love with him!”

Elias froze.

His expression didn’t soften.

It hardened.

“You think love will protect him from a kill team?” Elias said. “You think crying his name in the dark will make those men spare him?”

Lena’s lip trembled. “He would’ve protected me.”

“And now he has to protect himself,” Elias said. “Thanks to that file you opened.”

Lena flinched.

He stepped closer, his face unreadable in the moonlight. “The Circle won’t harm him unless he gets in the way. But if YOU stay…” He touched her pocket where the capsule was hidden. “…they will burn the world to reach you.”

Lena felt sick.

“Where… are we going?” she whispered.

Elias looked toward the dense mountains ahead.

“To someone who owes your mother a debt,” he said. “Someone the Circle fears.”

“Who?”

Elias’s jaw set.

“Her name is Cassandra.”

Lena blinked. She didn’t recognize the name.

Elias continued, “Your mother trusted her. Cassandra helped hide the file. She’s the only person alive who knows how to decode the rest of it.”

“The rest?” Lena whispered. “There’s more?”

Elias nodded. “What you saw was only a fraction. A warning. The real file is locked twice. Biometric and neurological.”

Lena stared at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” Elias said, “that only you can finish what your mother started.”

And before Lena could ask more—

A hiss of metal broke the quiet.

A blade flew through the air, lodging in the tree beside Elias’s head.

He jerked Lena down instantly.

“MOVE!” Elias hissed, gun drawn.

Lena’s heart froze.

Because from the shadows behind them…

Footsteps approached.

Not Circle.

Not soldiers.

Someone else.

A silhouette stepped into the moonlight.

And Lena’s blood ran cold.

It wasn’t Alexander.

And it wasn’t a killer.

It was—

Victoria.

Bloody.

Barely standing.

But alive.

Her voice was ice:

“Elias… you’re not taking her anywhere.”