Hospitals had a strange kind of silence.
Not the peaceful kind, but the heavy, waiting kind where every whisper sounded like it carried a secret.
Isabelle lay awake long after Sebastian left. The rain had stopped, leaving behind a dull gray light that pressed against the windows. She could still smell the faint trace of smoke on her skin, like a ghost that refused to fade.
Her body ached, but her mind wouldn't rest. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the explosion the orange flash, the roar of flames, Sebastian throwing himself over her.
And then nothing.
He'd said they were leaving the city tonight.
He'd said she was safe.
But deep down, she knew better.
Safety was an illusion one that always shattered just when she started to believe it.
She turned her head, staring at the small bouquet of white lilies on her bedside table. They were elegant, freshly cut, with a simple note tucked between the stems.
She frowned. They hadn't been there before she fell asleep.
Her pulse quickened.
She reached for the card with trembling fingers.
It wasn't from Sebastian.
There was no signature just a single line, written in neat, looping handwriting
"She tried to warn him once. Don't make her mistake."
Isabelle's breath caught.
Her eyes flicked to the hallway, but no one was there. The nurse's station light glowed faintly down the corridor, the sound of distant footsteps echoing.
Her heart pounded harder. She looked again at the lilies their petals perfect, untouched.
Then she noticed it.
Beneath the ribbon tying the stems together was a small, silver flash drive.
Her fingers shook as she pulled it free.
The hospital TV had a USB port.
She hesitated for only a moment before pushing it in. The screen flickered, then turned black. For a few seconds, there was only static then an image appeared.
A woman.
Evelyn Kane.
Isabelle's throat went dry.
The recording was old the colors slightly washed out, the lighting dim, as if it had been filmed in secret. Evelyn sat in what looked like an office, her face pale, her eyes haunted.
She looked nothing like the smiling socialite in the portrait hanging in Sebastian's mansion.
This version looked scared.
"If you're seeing this" Evelyn's voice trembled, but her tone was urgent. "Then I didn't make it out."
Isabelle's heart lurched.
Her thumb froze over the pause button.
Evelyn looked around nervously, lowering her voice. "They think I don't know. They think Sebastian doesn't suspect. But it's not him. It was never him. It's" The video crackled, the sound warping. "company, not the rival you think. There's someone inside"
The video stuttered, glitched, and for a heartbeat, Isabelle saw something behind her a reflection in the glass wall.
A man in a dark suit, blurred, watching her from the doorway.
The next second, the screen went black.
"File corrupted," the TV announced in cold, robotic tones.
Isabelle sat frozen, her fingers gripping the blanket so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her pulse roared in her ears.
She tried to warn him once.
The words from the card replayed in her mind.
Evelyn hadn't died because of an accident. She'd been silenced and now, whoever was behind it was reaching for Isabelle too.
A knock startled her. She yanked the flash drive from the TV and hid it under her pillow just as the door opened.
Liam stepped in.
"Miss Lane," he said quietly. "You should be resting."
She forced her expression to stay calm. "I was just watching something."
He nodded, though his eyes scanned the room too long. "Sebastian's finalizing the transport. We'll leave as soon as the doctor clears you."
"Is he okay?" she asked, voice steady.
Liam hesitated. "He's tired. But focused."
That wasn't an answer, and she knew it.
Still, she smiled faintly. "Tell him I said thank you."
He nodded once and left.
The moment the door clicked shut, Isabelle exhaled shakily. Her heart still thundered.
She pulled the flash drive back out and slipped it into her jacket pocket, just in case they tried to search her things later.
Whatever Evelyn had meant to say whoever she'd been warning them about Isabelle needed to find out before Sebastian did. Because if she'd learned one thing since meeting him, it was this:
Sebastian Kane didn't investigate mysteries.
He buried them.
The next few hours passed in a blur. Nurses came and went. The doctor checked her vitals and reluctantly cleared her for discharge. Sebastian returned just before sunset, looking composed again suit pressed, voice calm, mask firmly back in place.
"Ready?" he asked softly, helping her into the coat he'd brought.
She nodded, hiding the flash drive deeper in her pocket. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere no one can find us," he said. "For now."
His tone left no room for argument.
But as they stepped out of the hospital, Isabelle glanced back one last time and froze.
A woman in a nurse's uniform stood at the end of the hall, holding an empty vase.
Her eyes met Isabelle's for only a second, but her lips curved into the faintest smile.
Then she turned and disappeared down another corridor.
Isabelle's blood went cold.
She didn't know who that woman was but the flowers had come from someone inside this hospital. Someone who knew exactly where she was, and exactly what message to leave.
Outside, the rain had stopped completely, replaced by the scent of wet asphalt and the hum of city lights. Sebastian led her toward a black car waiting at the curb, the driver already inside.
As they slid into the back seat, Isabelle's gaze drifted to him. His profile was sharp against the city glow a man carved from secrets.
She wanted to tell him about the flash drive. About Evelyn's message.
But something inside her stopped her.
Because for the first time, she wasn't sure whether Sebastian was part of the truth or part of the lie.
They drove in silence for miles, city turning to highway, highway to countryside. Isabelle stared out the window, her reflection merging with the passing lights.
Every word of Evelyn's video replayed in her mind. It's not him. It was never him. There's someone inside.
Inside what?
The company? His empire? His home?
Her fingers brushed the flash drive again, hidden and warm against her palm.
Whatever Evelyn had discovered whoever she had seen behind that door in the reflection it wasn't finished yet.
And Isabelle Lane wasn't going to be the next woman lost to Sebastian Kane's past.