Lila’s fingers trembled around the gun.

The weight of it was all wrong—too heavy, too cold, too final. The barrel wavered between Adrian’s chest and Mia’s smirking face. Blood dripped from Lila’s split lip, splattering onto the metal. The air reeked of sweat, rust, and the sharp tang of gunpowder.

Mia leaned in, her breath hot against Lila’s ear. "Tick-tock, Lila. The cops won’t take long once they see that video."

Adrian’s swollen eye locked onto hers. A silent plea. Do it.

But Lila’s hands wouldn’t obey.

Her pulse roared in her ears, drowning out everything but the sickening thud of Chloe’s body hitting the pavement in that cursed video. The way her limbs had twisted—unnatural, broken. The way the car hadn’t stopped.

Lena did that. Not me.

But Mia didn’t know.

And Mia didn’t care.

Lila’s vision blurred. The ropes bit deeper into her wrists. The gun trembled—

And then—

A voice.

Not hers.

Not Mia’s.

Hers.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake."

Lena’s laugh slithered through Lila’s mind, honey-sweet and venomous.

And then—

She took over.

Lila’s fingers steadied. The gun rose smoothly, effortlessly, like a marionette pulled by invisible strings.

Mia’s smirk faltered.

Lena smirked back.

"Wrong choice, bestie."

The gun fired.

The sound was deafening.

Mia jerked back—but not fast enough. The bullet grazed her shoulder, spinning her sideways in a spray of crimson. She screamed, clutching the wound, her eyes wide with betrayal.

Adrian moved like lightning.

Despite the blood, despite the broken ribs, he lunged, slamming into Mia with the force of a freight train. They hit the concrete hard, bones cracking, fists flying. Mia’s gun skittered away, lost in the shadows.

Lila—no, Lena—laughed.

"Oh, this is fun."

She raised the gun again.

Adrian saw it.

He roared, throwing himself between the barrel and Mia just as—

BANG.

The second shot tore through his side.

Blood bloomed across his shirt, dark and wet. He staggered, choking, but didn’t fall.

Lila screamed inside her own skull. "STOP!"

Lena hesitated.

A mistake.

Mia struck.

A knife—where the hell had she gotten a knife?—flashed silver in the dim light. It sank into Lila’s thigh.

White-hot agony.

Lena shrieked, her control slipping.

Lila gasped, surfacing just long enough to see Mia yank the blade free, already swinging for her throat—

Adrian caught her wrist.

They struggled, grunting, bleeding, both on the verge of collapse.

Then—

A boot to Adrian’s ribs.

The masked giant—Mia’s accomplice—loomed over them, his fist crashing into Adrian’s jaw with a sickening crunch.

Adrian went limp.

Mia scrambled up, panting, her face a mask of fury and blood.

Lila’s vision swam. The pain in her leg was unbearable. The ropes were slick with her own blood.

Mia grabbed her hair, wrenching her head back.

"You don’t get to win," she hissed.

The knife pressed against Lila’s throat.

A whisper of steel.

Then—

Darkness.

Lila didn’t feel herself hit the ground.

The world faded in and out—voices shouting, footsteps pounding, a distant siren wailing.

Hands grabbed her.

She thought she heard Adrian’s voice.

"Lila—Lila, stay with me—"

But then—

Nothing.

When she woke, the warehouse was on fire.

Flames licked up the walls, devouring the rusted metal, the scent of burning oil thick in the air. Smoke coiled around her, choking, suffocating.

She was alone.

No Mia.

No Adrian.

Just blood, fire, and the echo of a gunshot.

And one last thought before the darkness took her again— the one