The mansion breathed silence — thick and heavy, pressing against Ava’s chest like a suffocating weight. She paced the shadowed hallway, each footstep a sharp click against cold marble. Her fingers trembled, clutching her jacket as the memory of the chilling note seared fresh in her mind:

You looked beautiful today.

Noah’s presence was a dark storm she couldn’t outrun. He moved like a shadow through the house — silent, sharp, every sense alert to threats Ava couldn’t see.

She found him standing by a rain-speckled window, city lights flickering like distant fireflies, casting jagged reflections across his tense jawline. His eyes, cold and unreadable, were fixed on the night outside.

“You don’t sleep much,” Ava said, voice barely steady.

Without turning, he murmured, “Can’t. Not when the storm’s coming.”

Her heart skipped. “Who’s after me?”

Noah’s shoulders tightened like a coiled wire. “Someone who wants to erase everything you love — your past, your future, everyone you care about.”

The weight of his words hit her like a punch. The lonely apartment, the stalking notes, the suffocating fear — all suddenly made brutal sense.

“Why me?” she whispered, voice cracking.

At last, he faced her, eyes softer yet sharper than a blade. “Because you hold a secret — one so dangerous it could topple empires.”

Her breath caught. What secret? What part of her life was worth killing for?

Before she could ask, the mansion’s lights flickered violently. A distant crash echoed upstairs, sharp and sudden.

Noah’s whole body tensed, every muscle ready to strike. “Stay here. Do not move.”

Her pulse thundered in her ears as he vanished into the darkness, leaving her alone with the echoing silence — and the creeping terror that this night was only just beginning.

To be continued...