CHAPTER 32: The Girl In The Rain

Nobody moved.

The garage seemed to empty of sound all at once, the chaos of reporters fading beneath the shock that slammed through Aria’s chest.

The woman standing beneath the rain looked almost exactly like the photographs.

Like Isabella.

Not identical.

But close enough to make reality tilt sideways.

Dark hair clung to her face in wet strands. Her posture was calm despite the cameras flashing around her. And around her neck, the silver crescent moon necklace rested against pale skin like a warning.

Aria felt suddenly unsteady.

Beside her, Ethan went completely rigid.

Daniel muttered a curse under his breath.

Celeste looked horrified.

Not surprised.

Horrified.

The woman’s gaze locked directly onto Aria.

Not Ethan.

Not the reporters.

Aria.

Then softly, almost gently, she said:

“You shouldn’t go back there.”

The reporters exploded instantly.

“Who are you?”

“Are you Isabella Hale?”

“Did you survive the fire?”

Security surged forward again, trying to force the crowd backward, but the damage was already done.

Phones recorded everything.

Livestreams were already spreading.

Aria could practically feel the internet detonating in real time.

The woman ignored the cameras completely.

Her eyes remained fixed on Aria with unsettling intensity.

Ethan stepped in front of her immediately.

“Get her inside the vehicle.”

But Aria barely heard him.

Because the woman looked familiar.

Not from photographs.

From somewhere deeper.

A feeling.

A memory hovering just beyond reach.

The woman smiled faintly.

Sadness flickered across her face.

“You really don’t remember me.”

Aria’s pulse stumbled.

The sentence hit harder than it should have.

Ethan’s voice sharpened dangerously. “Enough.”

The woman finally looked toward him.

And whatever expression crossed her face then was not fear.

Hatred.

Cold and old and deeply personal.

“You failed her,” she said quietly.

The air shifted instantly.

Ethan’s jaw tightened hard enough to visibly strain.

Daniel moved closer. “We need to leave. Now.”

But Aria stepped sideways before Ethan could guide her into the SUV.

“Who are you?”

The woman’s attention returned to her slowly.

Rain poured harder around her now, thunder rolling low overhead while flashing cameras illuminated the garage entrance in violent bursts of white light.

Then the woman answered:

“My name is Lilith.”

The name meant nothing to Aria.

But Celeste inhaled sharply behind her.

Ethan noticed instantly.

“You know her,” he said coldly.

Celeste looked shaken for the first time since arriving.

“She was one of Victor’s house staff years ago.”

Lilith laughed softly.

“House staff.” Her eyes darkened. “That’s a pretty version of it.”

Something about the way she said it made Aria uneasy immediately.

Lilith looked back toward her.

“You were too young to understand what that house really was.”

Aria’s stomach tightened.

“What does that mean?”

Before Lilith could answer, Ethan stepped forward again.

“We’re done here.”

Lilith’s gaze shifted toward him calmly.

“No,” she said quietly. “You’re late.”

The sentence chilled the entire garage.

Daniel frowned sharply. “Late for what?”

Lilith’s eyes moved toward the storm outside.

“For what Victor already started.”

A loud screech of tires suddenly echoed from outside the garage entrance.

Everyone turned instantly.

Another black SUV sped violently around the corner toward the hotel.

Too fast.

Security began shouting immediately.

Ethan grabbed Aria’s arm hard enough to pull her backward.

“Down!”

The vehicle slammed sideways near the entrance.

Doors flew open.

Men in dark clothing rushed out into the storm.

Not reporters.

Aria knew that immediately.

Everything happened at once after that.

Security shouted.

Cameras crashed to the floor.

Reporters screamed and scattered beneath the rain.

Ethan shoved Aria behind one of the concrete support pillars while Daniel reached beneath his coat for a weapon.

Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs.

“What’s happening?!”

Ethan’s expression had gone lethal.

“Victor got tired of waiting.”

Gunshots exploded through the garage.

The sound shattered the chaos completely.

Aria flinched violently as security dragged reporters toward cover.

Concrete cracked nearby.

The entire garage erupted into panic.

Ethan pulled her lower behind the pillar while Daniel returned fire from across the vehicles.

Aria’s breathing turned sharp and uneven.

This couldn’t be real.

This could not possibly be real.

Yet the sound of bullets ricocheting through concrete said otherwise.

Through the chaos, Aria saw Lilith still standing near the rain-soaked entrance.

Completely calm.

One of the armed men moved toward her.

Then stopped immediately.

Not threatening.

Waiting.

As though expecting instructions.

Fear crawled slowly through Aria’s chest.

Lilith looked toward Ethan one final time.

Then calmly said:

“You should’ve told her what really happened at Blackwater House.”

Ethan’s face darkened instantly.

Another gunshot cracked through the garage.

Daniel shouted something from behind the vehicles.

“MOVE!”

Ethan grabbed Aria’s hand and pulled her toward the SUV while security returned fire around them.

Rain exploded across her skin the second they burst outside.

The storm felt freezing.

Blinding.

Aria barely kept pace as Ethan forced her into the backseat.

Daniel jumped into the front passenger seat seconds later.

“Go!”

The SUV accelerated violently out of the garage just as more vehicles appeared at the end of the street.

Aria looked back through the rain-streaked rear window.

Lilith remained standing in the middle of the chaos.

Watching them leave.

And smiling.

The city blurred past at dangerous speed while thunder cracked overhead.

Aria struggled to breathe properly.

“What the hell was that?!”

Nobody answered immediately.

Daniel checked behind them sharply. “Two vehicles following.”

Ethan swore under his breath.

Aria stared at him.

“You said Victor wanted pressure. That didn’t look like pressure.”

Ethan’s eyes remained fixed ahead.

“No,” he said grimly.

“That was retrieval.”

The word made her blood run cold.

Rain hammered the SUV roof relentlessly while the city lights streaked past outside.

Aria tried to steady her breathing.

Tried to think.

But one sentence kept echoing in her head.

You should’ve told her what really happened at Blackwater House.

Slowly, she looked toward Ethan.

“What happened there?”

Silence.

Then Ethan finally answered.

“The fire wasn’t an accident.”