The night air felt colder than usual.
Neither Ryan Blake nor Ethan Carter moved.
Neither spoke.
They simply stood there staring at each other.
Lia's cracked phone sat tightly in Ryan's hand.
A horrible reminder that something had gone terribly wrong.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
Ethan's voice was sharp.
Controlled.
But barely.
Ryan clenched his jaw.
"She was on the phone with me."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Ryan looked away briefly.
As if replaying everything in his head.
"She got off work."
"She was walking home."
"I told her to keep talking to me."
Ethan felt his stomach sink.
Ryan continued.
His voice growing darker.
"Then she told me a black car was following her."
Silence.
Ethan froze.
"A black car?"
Ryan nodded.
"I told her to run."
The words hit Ethan like a punch.
For the first time—
He could hear the guilt in Ryan's voice.
Real guilt.
Not the joking Ryan.
Not the annoying Ryan.
Not the guy Ethan hated.
Just a terrified boy who thought he had failed someone he loved.
"What happened next?"
Ryan swallowed hard.
"The call ended."
Silence.
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Because both were imagining the same thing.
Lia alone.
Terrified.
Calling for help.
Ethan suddenly punched the side of his car.
"Damn it!"
The sound echoed across the empty road.
Ryan didn't even react.
Because honestly?
He wanted to punch something too.
Then suddenly—
A memory flashed through his mind.
His father's words from breakfast.
"If Lia Thompson disappeared from this situation, everything would become easier."
Ryan froze.
Ethan noticed immediately.
"What?"
Ryan didn't answer.
"What is it?"
Still nothing.
Then finally—
Ryan spoke.
"I think I know who's behind this."
Ethan's expression hardened instantly.
"Who?"
Ryan looked away.
And for the first time in his life—
He felt ashamed.
Because the answer made him sick.
"My family."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Ethan stared at him.
Waiting for him to laugh.
Waiting for him to say he was joking.
He didn't.
"You think your family kidnapped her?"
Ryan's fists tightened.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But my father threatened me this morning."
Ethan's eyes widened.
"He WHAT?"
Ryan explained everything.
The breakfast.
The photos.
The comments about Lia.
The warning.
Everything.
And the more Ethan listened—
The angrier he became.
Until finally—
He grabbed Ryan's hoodie.
"You should've told someone!"
Ryan shoved his hand away immediately.
"You think I know that?"
Both boys were breathing heavily now.
Angry.
Scared.
Desperate.
Then suddenly—
Ryan's phone rang.
Both froze.
Unknown Number.
The same one.
Ryan answered instantly.
"WHERE IS SHE?"
A distorted laugh echoed through the speaker.
Then a voice.
Cold.
Mocking.
"Warehouse 17."
Ryan's heart stopped.
Ethan stepped closer.
Trying to hear every word.
The voice continued.
"If you want the girl alive..."
A pause.
"Come get her."
The call ended.
For a second—
Neither moved.
Neither breathed.
Then Ethan looked toward the dark warehouses ahead.
Warehouse 17.
Ryan's grip tightened around the phone.
And for the first time since they met—
The two rivals looked at each other and saw the exact same thing.
Fear.
Because somewhere inside that warehouse—
Lia Thompson was waiting.
And neither of them knew if they were already too late.