"For someone who hides so well, Sara, you leave beautiful footprints."
The voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
It slithered through the hallway like smoke, confident and unhurried.
Sara froze—not with fear, but with calculated stillness.
She didn't turn. Never turn toward danger.
Not before you see its shape.
A.V.R (through the earpiece, low and controlled): Don't move. I'm coming up.
Sara's eyes flicked once toward the far end of the corridor.
Empty. Still. Quiet.
Too quiet.
The phone on the chair was still recording, red light blinking like a heartbeat.
A slow clap echoed once.
Then twice.
A figure stepped into the dim light at the edge of the hall.
Not a man.
A woman.
Wearing a black trench coat, hood low, face half-hidden but posture oozing uninvited confidence. Boots deliberate on the cold marble. Someone who walked like she owned the silence.
Unknown Woman: "You love him, don't you?"
The question hit like a thrown blade.
Sara didn't flinch.
Sara (steady): Who are you?
The woman chuckled softly as if amused at the idea that names mattered.
Unknown Woman: "I've watched him destroy empires without blinking. I'm curious how far he'll go… when it's you on the line."
Her voice was calm… elegant… dangerous.
Footsteps.
Not hers.
From the stairwell behind Sara — another presence.
A shift in the air.
A scent of cold metal and high-end cologne.
Aarav.
She didn't need to turn to know.
His presence was always like a storm about to break.
A.V.R (voice now live in the hallway, not in her ear): Step away from her.
Slowly… the woman smirked and turned her head, acknowledging Aarav's arrival like it was part of her script.
Her eyes—sharp, intelligent, fearless—gleamed faintly under the hood light.
Unknown Woman: "Ah. The Frost King arrives."
Aarav stepped into the corridor fully, his expression carved in ice.
Aarav: You're trespassing on my property.
Unknown Woman: "On the contrary… I was invited."
She lifted her wrist.
There was a bracelet.
Not just any bracelet.
Sara's blood went cold.
It was hers.
The one she lost three months ago, the night she first stayed in Aarav's private penthouse. She thought she misplaced it.
She didn't.
Someone had been in their safe space.
Aarav's jaw tightened—the tiniest shift, but Sara caught it.
Aarav (voice dangerously soft): Where did you get that?
She clicked the bracelet once, the metallic sound echoing eerily.
Unknown Woman: "From a place only two people in the world should have access to. You… and her."
She tilted her head at Sara.
"Looks like your sanctuary isn't as secret as you thought."
Aarav stepped forward, shadows stretching with him — slow, lethal.
Aarav: Name. Now.
The woman smiled.
A slow, chilling, almost… familiar smile.
Unknown Woman: "You can call me—"
CRACK.
The hallway lights flickered.
All cameras in the corridor died at once.
The recording stopped.
Her voice, fading into darkness—
"—Eris."
Then—
She vanished.
Not ran.
Not panicked.
Vanished.
Like she was never there.
Sara's breath rushed out.
Aarav was at her side in two strides, hand instantly checking her pulse like he needed proof that she was untouched.
Aarav (low, intense): Did she hurt you?
Sara (whisper, steady): No. But she… she's been in your penthouse.
For a split moment—only one—Aarav's eyes changed.
From cold… to something darker.
Aarav (vow-like): Then I'll burn the world until she has nowhere to stand.
Outside, at exactly 11:11 PM, the rain started.