CHAPTER 23: In The Dark

The blackout lasted less than two seconds.

But in those two seconds, Aria’s pulse slammed hard enough to make her dizzy.

The city vanished beyond the windows.

The soft hum of electricity disappeared.

Darkness swallowed the suite whole.

Then emergency lights flickered on in dim red strips along the floor.

Ethan moved instantly.

“Stay behind me.”

The command came low and sharp.

Aria barely had time to react before he crossed the room toward the security panel beside the entrance. His movements were precise now, every trace of emotional exhaustion replaced by instinct.

The hotel suite no longer looked luxurious under the emergency lighting.

It looked fortified.

Dangerous.

Ethan checked the panel quickly. “Backup system activated.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Which meant he hated it already.

A soft crackle sounded overhead before the intercom buzzed.

One of the security staff spoke rapidly through the line.

“Sir, the main system was breached for approximately eight seconds.”

Ethan’s expression darkened immediately.

“Breached how?”

“We’re tracing it now.”

Eight seconds.

Aria felt cold.

That was all it took sometimes.

Eight seconds to steal files.

To plant something.

To destroy something.

Ethan pressed the communication button harder. “Lock down the entire floor.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line disconnected.

Aria folded her arms tightly across herself. “Tell me this isn’t normal.”

“It isn’t.”

That answer should have comforted her.

Instead, it made her more afraid.

Ethan crossed toward a concealed cabinet near the wall and removed a handgun with smooth familiarity before checking the magazine.

Aria stared at him.

“You carry that around casually?”

He glanced toward her briefly while sliding the weapon into the back of his waistband.

“Not casually.”

The honesty of that answer unsettled her more than if he’d joked.

Outside the reinforced windows, parts of the city still glowed normally, but their section of the building remained dim beneath emergency power.

A storm had begun gathering again.

Lightning flashed faintly across distant clouds.

Aria rubbed her palms together unconsciously.

“You think Victor did this?”

“I think someone wants access.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“No,” Ethan agreed quietly. “It doesn’t.”

A sudden sound near the hallway made both of them turn instantly.

Footsteps.

Aria’s stomach tightened.

Ethan raised one hand slightly, signaling silence.

The footsteps passed outside the suite slowly before disappearing again.

Probably security.

Probably.

Still, Aria realized she’d stopped breathing until the sound faded.

“This is insane,” she whispered.

Ethan looked toward her then.

For the first time all night, some of the steel in his expression cracked slightly.

“I know.”

Something about the way he said it hit differently this time.

Not dismissive.

Not controlled.

Almost regretful.

Aria looked away first.

Because despite everything, despite the secrets and lies and terrifying uncertainty, part of her still trusted him.

And that felt increasingly dangerous.

The lights flickered again before stabilizing.

A few seconds later, Ethan’s phone buzzed sharply.

He answered immediately.

“What did you find?”

Silence.

Then his expression hardened further.

“How long ago?”

Aria watched tension spread visibly through his posture.

“No,” Ethan said coldly. “Tell me exactly what was accessed.”

A pause followed.

Then Ethan ended the call without another word.

Her stomach dropped.

“What happened?”

He looked at her carefully before answering.

“The breach targeted archived records.”

Aria’s chest tightened instantly.

“My records?”

“Yes.”

Fear slid sharply through her.

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone was searching specifically for information connected to you.”

Aria let out a small breath of disbelief. “That sentence should not exist in my life.”

Ethan almost smiled.

Almost.

But the tension remained too heavy for it to fully appear.

He walked toward the main security monitor and typed in a code.

Several camera feeds appeared across the screen.

Hallways.

Elevators.

Garage entrances.

Security stations.

Everything looked normal.

Too normal.

Then one feed flickered briefly.

Aria frowned. “Wait.”

Ethan noticed it too.

The image distorted again for less than a second.

And during that second, a figure appeared near the elevator bank.

A woman.

Dark coat.

Dark hair.

Standing perfectly still while looking directly into the camera.

Aria’s breath caught.

Because even through the grainy interference, the silhouette looked familiar.

Too familiar.

The feed corrected itself immediately afterward.

The hallway became empty again.

Ethan replayed the footage instantly.

Static.

Distortion.

Then the woman again.

Watching the camera.

Watching them.

Aria stepped closer slowly.

Something cold moved down her spine.

“That’s impossible.”

Ethan zoomed in carefully.

The quality worsened, but one detail became visible.

Around the woman’s neck hung a silver crescent moon necklace.

The same necklace.

Again.

Aria felt suddenly unsteady.

“She was here.”

“No,” Ethan said quietly.

The certainty in his tone surprised her.

“That footage was inserted remotely.”

She looked at him sharply. “How can you tell?”

“Because that hallway camera was disabled during the breach.”

Silence.

Aria stared back at the frozen image on the screen.

“So someone wanted us to see this.”

“Yes.”

The realization settled heavily between them.

This wasn’t random anymore.

Someone was orchestrating information carefully.

The footage.

The articles.

The necklace.

The messages.

Every reveal arrived exactly when it could cause maximum damage.

Aria suddenly remembered something.

“The envelope.”

Ethan looked toward her immediately.

“If Victor’s behind all this, maybe the envelope is connected somehow.”

Ethan frowned slightly. “Connected how?”

“What if whatever Isabella left inside it explains why she disappeared?”

The room fell quiet again.

Because neither of them could dismiss that possibility anymore.

A soft vibration against the glass windows interrupted the moment.

Rain had started again.

Harder now.

The storm outside intensified quickly, lightning flashing across the skyline in silver streaks.

Aria walked slowly toward the windows, staring out over the city.

Then she froze.

Far below, across the street from the hotel entrance, a single black car sat parked beneath the rain.

Waiting.

Its headlights remained off.

But she could feel it somehow.

Watching.

“Ethan.”

His attention sharpened instantly. “What?”

Aria pointed downward.

Ethan crossed beside her and followed her gaze.

The moment he saw the car, his expression changed.

Recognition.

Cold and immediate.

“You know that vehicle.”

“Yes.”

Her pulse quickened. “Whose is it?”

Ethan stayed silent for a second too long.

Then:

“Victor’s.”

The rain hammered harder against the windows.

The black car remained motionless below.

Watching the building like a patient predator.

Then, slowly, the rear passenger door opened.

Aria’s breath caught.

A woman stepped out into the rain.

Dark coat.

Dark hair.

Slim figure.

And even from stories above the street, Aria could see the silver crescent moon necklace glinting faintly beneath the city lights.

The woman slowly lifted her face toward the hotel windows.

Toward them.

And smiled.