Chapter 31: Before Sunrise

The note slipped from Ava’s trembling fingers.

It fluttered onto the table between them.

Bring the heir before sunrise.

Or watch her mother die.

For a long moment, nobody spoke.

The fire crackled softly in the corner.

Outside, the storm continued to rage.

But inside the cabin, the silence felt far more dangerous.

Ava stared at the photograph of the grave.

Her grave.

Prepared before she was even dead.

Prepared as if her fate had already been decided.

Then she looked at the second photograph.

The one showing Elena standing beside Richard.

Her mother.

The woman she had only just gotten back.

The woman she had spent fifteen years mourning.

Now she might lose her all over again.

“No.”

The word escaped before she could stop it.

Ethan immediately turned toward her.

“Ava.”

“No.”

She backed away from the table.

Her breathing becoming uneven.

“They don’t get to do this.”

Adrian folded his arms.

“They already have.”

Ava shot him a glare.

“Not helping.”

Adrian looked away.

For once, he seemed just as frustrated as she was.

Ethan picked up the note again.

His jaw tightened.

“This isn’t about Elena.”

Ava frowned.

“What?”

“They know we’ll react emotionally.”

Adrian nodded.

“He’s right.”

Ava looked between them.

“What are you talking about?”

Ethan pointed at the note.

“This is bait.”

“Bait?”

“Yes.”

His eyes darkened.

“The Circle wants us at Blackwater Church.”

“Then we don’t go.”

The answer came from Adrian.

Everyone looked at him.

Adrian’s expression remained calm.

“If we go, we’re walking directly into their hands.”

Ava laughed bitterly.

“And if we don’t?”

Nobody answered.

Because they all knew the answer.

Elena dies.

The realization hit Ava like a punch to the chest.

Her mother.

After everything.

After all the lies.

After all the anger.

She still couldn’t lose her.

Not now.

Not again.

Hours passed.

The argument continued.

Go.

Don’t go.

Trust the message.

Ignore the message.

Every possibility ended badly.

Eventually Ethan moved to the window.

Watching the darkness outside.

Thinking.

Ava recognized that look.

It usually meant he had a plan.

“Ethan.”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Then he finally turned around.

“We split up.”

Adrian immediately shook his head.

“No.”

Ethan ignored him.

“Adrian takes Ava somewhere safe.”

“No.”

This time the protest came from Ava.

Ethan looked at her.

“Ava.”

“I’m not hiding.”

“You won’t be hiding.”

“Then what?”

His expression hardened.

“You’ll be surviving.”

The words hurt more than they should have.

Because she knew what he wasn’t saying.

Ethan was planning something dangerous.

Something he wasn’t sure he’d survive.

And he was trying to protect her from it.

Again.

She was tired of being protected.

Tired of being left behind.

Tired of being treated like something fragile.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No.”

The answer came instantly.

“No.”

Ava stepped closer.

“I’m not asking.”

Ethan’s eyes flashed.

“And I’m not negotiating.”

The tension between them filled the room.

Neither willing to back down.

Neither willing to compromise.

Then Adrian suddenly laughed.

Both turned toward him.

“What?”

Adrian shook his head.

“You two are impossible.”

Ava glared at him.

“This isn’t funny.”

“No.”

His smile faded.

“It’s terrifying.”

Near dawn…

Ava couldn’t sleep.

Neither could Ethan.

The others were resting.

Or pretending to.

She found Ethan outside the cabin.

Standing beneath the covered porch.

Watching the first hints of sunrise appear beyond the trees.

For several moments she simply stood beside him.

Neither spoke.

Then Ethan finally broke the silence.

“I thought I lost you tonight.”

Ava’s heart tightened.

She looked up.

His eyes remained fixed on the horizon.

“When the estate exploded.”

His voice was quiet.

“I couldn’t find you.”

The memory returned instantly.

The gunfire.

The smoke.

The chaos.

The fear.

Ava swallowed hard.

“I thought I lost you too.”

For the first time, Ethan looked at her.

Really looked at her.

The way he used to before everything went wrong.

Before the lies.

Before the fake death.

Before the secrets.

“I never wanted this.”

Ava laughed softly.

“Which part?”

His expression darkened.

“Any of it.”

Silence settled between them.

Then Ava asked the question that had been haunting her for weeks.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ethan froze.

She continued.

“When you came back.”

His jaw tightened.

“Ava—”

“No.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Why did I have to hear everything from everyone else?”

The pain in Ethan’s face was immediate.

Because there was no excuse.

No explanation.

Only regret.

“I was afraid.”

The answer surprised her.

“What?”

“I was afraid you’d hate me.”

Ava stared.

Ethan laughed bitterly.

“I let you bury me.”

The words hung heavily between them.

“I let you grieve.”

A tear slid down Ava’s cheek.

“I know.”

“I watched you suffer.”

His voice broke.

“And I couldn’t fix it.”

For the first time since Ethan returned…

Ava saw how much guilt he carried.

How much pain.

How much regret.

And suddenly she wasn’t the only victim of his choices.

Ethan had been punishing himself too.

Then he stepped closer.

“Ava.”

Her heart pounded.

“You don’t have to forgive me.”

The vulnerability in his voice shattered something inside her.

“You don’t have to trust me.”

Another step.

“You don’t even have to love me.”

Now they were standing inches apart.

“But I need you to know one thing.”

Ava could barely breathe.

“What?”

Ethan reached up.

Gently brushing a tear from her cheek.

The gesture felt heartbreakingly familiar.

“I never stopped loving you.”

The world seemed to disappear.

The storm.

The Circle.

The Founder.

The danger.

For one brief moment, none of it mattered.

Only him.

Only them.

Only the love they had spent so long fighting for.

Then—

A gunshot shattered the morning silence.

The bullet struck the wooden pillar beside Ethan’s head.

Ava screamed.

Ethan immediately pulled her down.

More shots followed.

The forest erupted with movement.

Men emerging from the trees.

Armed.

Organized.

Deadly.

The Circle had found them.

And sunrise had finally arrived.