Loren Vex thought he was careful. He thought he could hide, cover his tracks, control the chaos. He didn't know the real hunter had already set the stage.
Raina watched him from the shadows of her study, screens flickering with every step he took. Every move he made was deliberate—but that deliberation made him predictable.
Albert stood quietly beside her, tablet in hand.
"He's heading toward the city," Albert reported. "The old safe house he uses for layovers. Should we intervene?"
Raina's eyes glimmered with cold calculation.
"No," she said. "Let him think he's alone. Let him feel that control."
On the other end, Vex adjusted his route, unaware of the eyes tracking his every motion. He had checked every camera, every sensor—or at least every one he thought he controlled.
A faint ping on his phone alerted him to a message. Unknown number. He frowned but opened it.
"I know where you are. Move carefully, Loren."
His pulse quickened. Someone was inside his perimeter. Not a threat… not yet. But close enough to unsettle him.
"Damn it," he muttered, dialing a number he trusted for backup.
On the other end, the line was cold. No answers, just a recording:
"You don't need help. You need to survive."
Vex's hands clenched. The message was precise. The timing was perfect. Too perfect.
Miles away, Raina's voice barely rose above a whisper.
"He thinks he's being helped… He doesn't know the real hunter is watching."
Albert's brow furrowed. "And when he realizes?"
Raina leaned back, eyes locked on the live feed.
"By then, it will be too late. The trap isn't for him. He's the bait."
Vex arrived at the safe house. Empty streets. Dim lights. Perfect for someone trying to feel unseen.
He entered, sweeping the room with trained eyes. Cameras? None he could spot. Motion sensors? Offline.
Still… he felt it. That unease. That invisible pressure.
His phone buzzed again. Another message:
"Check the window. Now."
Vex froze, instincts kicking in. A window? Nothing seemed out of place—but he checked anyway. And then he saw it: a tiny reflection, almost imperceptible, glinting in the dark.
He didn't know it was a drone, a simple device transmitting every movement back to a room he couldn't even imagine.
Raina watched his every step, noting every twitch of his fingers, every glance over his shoulder.
"He'll lead us straight to them," she murmured, eyes narrowing.
The real killer—the one who had beaten Vex to Selena—was clever, careful, unseen. But clever and careful didn't mean invisible forever. And with Vex as the unwitting lure, Raina could flush them out.
"Let the pieces move," she said softly, almost to herself.
Albert inclined his head. "Do we let him leave again?"
"Yes," Raina said. "He's the bait, not the catch. Every step he takes brings the truth closer."
Outside, Vex paused, feeling the chill of the night and the creeping certainty that someone knew him better than he knew himself.
Inside, Raina's eyes glimmered with deadly patience.
"Finders are not always survivors," she whispered.
The hunt had begun—and for the first time, Vex wasn't in control.
The real killer would make a move soon.
And when they did, Raina would be waiting.