MIA
"One hour."
Mia stared at the photo of Jade. Bound. Terrified. Victor's hand on her shoulder like she was a trophy.
"One hour," she repeated. Her voice came out hollow. "We have one hour to save her."
"No." Elias's voice was flat. Cold. "I have one hour. You're going somewhere safe."
"Safe?" Mia's laugh came out sharp. "They just attacked your penthouse! They know where all your properties are! Where exactly is safe?"
Elias didn't answer. He was typing fast on his phone. Sending messages to people Mia couldn't see.
The car swerved around a corner. Damien drove like he was racing against the clock—which, Mia realized, he was. One hour. Sixty minutes. Already ticking down.
"Boss," Damien said quietly. "If Victor has all our locations—"
"Then someone talked." Elias's jaw tightened. "Someone inside."
"Who?"
"I'm going to find out." He looked up from his phone. Met Damien's eyes in the mirror. "Take her to the warehouse. Sector Seven."
"That's not on any of our lists," Damien said slowly. "Victor won't know about it."
"Exactly."
"Wait." Mia grabbed Elias's arm. "You're taking me to a warehouse while Jade is—"
"Being used as bait. Yes." Elias pulled his arm free. "This is what Victor does, Mia. He takes the thing you care about and uses it to make you stupid. Make you emotional. Make you run straight into a trap."
"So we just abandon her?"
"No. I go get her. Alone. While you stay hidden."
"That's insane! He'll kill you!"
"He'll try." Elias looked at her. His eyes were completely calm. Like they were discussing dinner plans instead of a hostage situation. "He's been trying for twelve years."
Twelve years.
The number stuck in Mia's head.
"That's how long you've been doing this," she said slowly. "The Ghost. The killings. Twelve years."
"Thirteen, actually. But the first year was research."
His voice held no emotion. Just facts. Like he was reading a grocery list.
Mia pulled back slightly. Looked at him—really looked. This man. Her husband. The stranger sitting beside her covered in glass and blood.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
Elias was quiet for a long moment. Then he leaned back against the seat. Closed his eyes briefly.
When he spoke, his voice was quieter. Almost gentle.
"Do you remember what I told you at our wedding?"
Mia thought back. Five years ago. The church. Three hundred guests. Elias in his wheelchair looking pale and sick. She'd leaned down so he could speak without everyone hearing.
"You said you were sorry," she said.
"I was. I still am." His eyes opened. Found hers. "I'm sorry you got pulled into this. But I'm not sorry I kept you alive."
"Elias—"
"My parents died when I was nineteen." He said it calmly. Matter-of-fact. "The official story said car accident. Brake failure. Tragic. The company sent flowers."
Mia's chest tightened. "What's the real story?"
"Victor Langton cut their brake lines personally." Elias's voice didn't change. "He wanted control of Crane Industries. My father wouldn't sell. So Victor made him disappear. Made it look like an accident. Took over three of our largest contracts before the funeral was even over."
"That's—"
"Murder. Yes." Elias looked at his hands. At the blood on them. "I was nineteen. I inherited a company I didn't know how to run and enemies I didn't know existed. Victor thought I'd be easy to control. Thought grief would make me weak."
"What did you do?"
"I buried my parents. Took my seat at the company. And started learning everything about the man who killed them." His eyes met hers again. "It took me a year to understand how deep Victor's network went. Police. Politicians. Judges. Businessmen. All of them in his pocket. All of them protected."
The car turned into an industrial area. Empty warehouses loomed in the darkness.
"The law couldn't touch him," Elias continued. "So I became something the law doesn't control. I built my own network. Quietly. Carefully. People who owed Victor money. People he'd hurt. People who wanted revenge but were too afraid to act."
"The Ghost," Mia said.
"The Ghost." He nodded. "I needed Victor to think I was dying. Needed him to look away while I dismantled his empire piece by piece. The wheelchair. The medication. The whole performance." He paused. "It worked. For thirteen years, he thought I was too weak to threaten him."
"Until now."
"Until you."
The words hung between them.
Damien pulled into a warehouse. Parked inside. Killed the engine.
Silence fell.
"I don't understand," Mia said quietly. "What do I have to do with any of this?"
Elias turned to face her fully. "Five years ago, Victor started investigating the Harlow family. Your stepfather's debts. Your mother's connections. He was looking for leverage against me—ways to destabilize Crane Industries."
"My family was broke. We had no leverage."
"You did." Elias's voice dropped. "I made a mistake. One mistake in thirteen years of being careful. I went to your stepfather's house to negotiate his debts. Standard business. Except—"
He stopped.
"Except what?" Mia pressed.
"I saw you." He said it simply. "You were sitting in the corner reading. Didn't even look up when I came in. Your stepfather was panicking. Your mother was crying. Cora was screaming. And you just—sat there. Reading. Completely calm."
Mia remembered that day. The day everything fell apart. The day her stepfather admitted they'd lose everything.
"I asked your name," Elias continued. "Just your name. That's all. But Victor's man was there. He saw me look at you. Saw me ask. And Victor—" His jaw tightened. "Victor understands leverage."
"He was going to use me against you."
"He was going to kill you." Elias's voice went hard. "Slowly. Publicly. To prove he could get to me. To prove the Ghost wasn't untouchable."
Mia's hands went cold. "So you married me."
"I offered your family a deal. Contract marriage. Five years. Public appearances only. Your father's debts cleared." He looked away. "It gave you protection. Made you official. Made killing you mean declaring war on Crane Industries. Victor couldn't touch you without exposing himself."
"The wheelchair—"
"Made me look weak. Made you look like a gold-digger doing charity work. Nothing threatening. Nothing Victor needed to worry about." His eyes found hers again. "It was supposed to keep you safe. Keep you invisible. Keep you alive until I could end this."
"But Cora—"
"Cora made you visible." Elias's voice went cold again. "She contacted Victor six months ago. Started feeding him information. Your routine. Your friends. Everything. She wanted you arrested. Wanted you destroyed. Wanted—"
His phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen. His face went blank.
"What?" Mia asked. "What is it?"
He showed her.
Another photo. Jade. Still tied to the chair. But now there was blood on her face. Fresh. Running from her nose.
Below it: 50 minutes left. She's getting impatient.
Mia's stomach turned over. "We need to go. Now."
"I need to go." Elias opened the car door. "You need to stay here."
"Elias—"
"Damien will stay with you. The warehouse is clean. No one knows about it. You'll be safe."
"Safe while you walk into a trap?"
"Yes." He stepped out. Started to close the door.
Mia grabbed his wrist. "You said you made one mistake in thirteen years. You looked at me too long. Asked my name."
"Yes."
"You're about to make mistake number two." She held his eyes. "Leaving me behind."
"Mia—"
"Victor doesn't want you dead, Elias. He wants you broken. He wants to prove he can take everything from you." Her grip tightened. "If you go alone, he wins. Even if you save Jade. Even if you survive. He proves you care. Proves you're weak. Proves the Ghost has something to lose."
Elias stared at her. Something shifted in his expression.
"So what do you suggest?" he asked quietly.
"We both go." Mia's voice steadied. "Together. No bait. No victim. No leverage. Just—"
"Partners," Elias finished.
"Yes."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he looked at Damien. "Give her a vest. And a gun."
"Boss—"
"Now."
Damien sighed. Opened a case in the trunk. Pulled out body armor and a small handgun.
Mia took them with shaking hands.
Elias watched her strap on the vest. Checked it was secure. His hands were gentle. Professional.
"Have you ever fired a gun?" he asked.
"No."
"Then don't. Unless you absolutely have to." He met her eyes. "Stay behind me. Do exactly what I say. If I tell you to run, you run. Understand?"
"Yes."
"This is real, Mia. People will die tonight. Maybe me. Maybe you. Maybe Jade."
"I know."
"And you're sure? Because once we walk into that building, there's no going back. You'll see who I really am. What I really do."
Mia looked at the man she'd married. The Ghost. The killer. The liar.
The man who'd spent five years protecting her from shadows she didn't know existed.
"I'm sure," she said.
Elias nodded once. Turned to Damien. "Location?"
Damien pulled up his phone. "Victor sent coordinates. Abandoned factory on the east side. Heavy industrial area. No neighbors. No witnesses."
"Perfect place for a massacre," Elias said calmly. "Let's go."
They got back in the car. Drove toward the address. Toward Jade. Toward Victor.
Toward the end of whatever this was.
Mia's phone buzzed. Not hers—Elias's spare one he'd given her.
She looked at the screen.
A text from an unknown number.
Turn around. While you still can. He's going to get you killed. This is your only warning. - A friend
Mia stared at the message.
Showed it to Elias.
He read it. His face showed nothing.
"Who sent that?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"Should we—"
"No." He deleted the message. "Victor's playing games. Trying to make you doubt. Turn back. Run."
"What if it's real? What if someone's trying to help?"
"Then they should've helped five years ago." His voice was hard. "We're not turning around."
The factory appeared ahead. Dark. Empty. Waiting.
Elias parked two blocks away. Killed the lights.
"Damien," he said. "Stay with the car. If we're not out in twenty minutes—"
"Burn it all down," Damien finished. "I know."
They got out. The night was cold. Quiet. Too quiet.
Elias checked his gun. Checked Mia's vest. Checked her face.
"Last chance," he said softly. "Walk away."
Mia looked at the factory. At the darkness. At the trap waiting inside.
Then she looked at Elias.
"Let's go get my friend," she said.
They walked toward the building together.
Behind them, Damien's phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
His face went white.
A message from inside Crane Industries security: Boss—there's been a breach. Someone accessed the master files. All of them. Including—
The message cut off.
Damien tried calling back. No answer.
He looked at the factory where Elias and Mia had just disappeared.
And made a choice.
He started the engine.
He had to warn them.
But before he could move, something cold pressed against his neck.
"Don't," a voice said from the back seat.
Damien froze.
"Who—"
"Someone who's been waiting a very long time for this moment." The voice was familiar. Too familiar. "Drive. Now. Or I paint the windshield with your brain."
Damien's hands gripped the wheel.
In the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of the person holding a gun to his head.
His blood ran cold.
"You," he whispered. "It was you all along."
"Took you long enough." The gun pressed harder. "Drive. We have a meeting to get to. And the Ghost is going to be so surprised when he sees who's been betraying him for five years."