Three days passed.
Marta woke up on the second day. Her first word was "Sara." Her second was "Dimitri."
Sara sat with her for hours, holding her hand, telling her everything was okay even though neither of them believed it.
Marta's eyes, when she looked at Sara, held something new. Something softer.
"I've worked for this family for fifteen years," she whispered, her voice rough. "Seen many women come and go. But you... you're different."
Sara squeezed her hand. "Different how?"
"You stay. You fight. You love him." Marta smiled weakly. "He needed someone like you."
Sara's eyes filled with tears. "I needed him too."
Marta nodded and closed her eyes. "Good. That's good."
Sara's father woke on the third day.
His eyes found Sara immediately, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then he whispered, "I'm sorry."
Sara shook her head. "Dad, this isn't your fault."
"It is." His voice cracked. "Everything. The debt. The contract. You being in this world. All my fault."
Sara moved closer, taking his hand.
"I'm not sorry," she said quietly. "I know it started badly. But I love him, Dad. I love Adrian. And I wouldn't change any of it."
Her father stared at her.
"He's a good man," Sara continued. "Not because of what he does. Because of who he is underneath. Because of how he loves me. Because of how he protects Tom."
Her father's eyes filled with tears.
"I just wanted you to be happy."
"I am happy." Sara smiled through her own tears. "Scared out of my mind most of the time. But happy."
Her father laughed weakly. "That's something, I guess."
"It's everything."
That night, Adrian received a message.
He read it in silence, his face growing darker with each word. When he finished, he handed the phone to Sara.
Dear brother,
You took my message personally, I see. Good. You should.
But we're not done. Not even close.
I have something you want. Something you need. Something that will destroy you if you don't get it back.
Come alone to the old church on Holloway Road. Midnight. Tomorrow.
Bring Sara.
If you don't come, everyone you love dies. Starting with the boy.
—D
Sara's blood ran cold.
"The boy," she whispered. "Tom."
Adrian's jaw was iron. "He won't touch Tom. I'll kill him first."
"You can't be everywhere, Adrian. You can't protect all of us at once."
Adrian turned to her, his eyes wild with desperation.
"Then what do I do? What do I do, Sara?"
Sara took a deep breath. Her mind raced, but somewhere deep inside, she found a calm she didn't know she had.
"We go."
Adrian stared at her. "Absolutely not."
"Listen to me." Sara grabbed his arms. "He wants us there. He's expecting us. If we don't go, he'll come here. He'll hurt Tom. He'll hurt Marta and my dad. We can't protect everyone in a fight here."
"And we can protect them there?"
"We can end it." Sara's voice was steady. "One way or another, we can end it."
Adrian searched her eyes for a long moment.
"You're asking me to walk you into a trap."
"I'm asking you to trust me. Like I trust you."
Adrian pulled her close, holding her so tight she could barely breathe.
"If anything happens to you—"
"Nothing will happen." She pulled back and looked at him. "Because we're together. And together, we can face anything."
Adrian kissed her—fierce, desperate, full of everything he couldn't say.
When they broke apart, Sara's phone buzzed.
She looked down.
Another message.
From an unknown number.
He's lying to you.
About his mother.
About who really killed her.
Ask him the truth before you die for him.
Sara's heart stopped.
She looked up at Adrian.
"Adrian... we need to talk."
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