Lost and found in Flic en Flac

The storm breaks

Lightning split the night sky in half.

Rain hammered the roof, running down the glass in rivers.

Adrian stood frozen at the window, watching as Damien Cross stepped out of the car — calm, deliberate, like a ghost who’d walked out of a graveyard.

He hadn’t changed much. The same hard jaw, the same calculating eyes.

Except now there was something colder about him — as though death had burned away the last of his humanity.

---

The Confrontation

Adrian opened the door before Damien could knock.

Wind tore through the hallway, scattering papers from the table.

Damien smiled faintly. “Still hate waiting, I see.”

“Why are you here?” Adrian’s voice was sharp.

Damien stepped inside uninvited, shaking the rain from his coat. “Because you have something that belongs to me.”

Murielle appeared at the end of the hallway, pale but composed. “Who is he?”

Adrian’s answer was quiet. “Someone who should have died in the crash.”

Damien’s eyes flicked toward her. “Ah. The doctor. You did well, Murielle. He looks almost human again.”

Her expression didn’t change, but her fingers curled into fists. “Get out.”

Damien chuckled. “So fierce. But I’m not here to hurt you. I just want what’s mine — the drive.”

Adrian took a step closer. “It’s not yours. It’s evidence — and I’m not letting you destroy it.”

Damien’s grin vanished. “You still think Lara was the villain? She wanted to burn the world clean, Sinclair. And you—” he jabbed a finger toward Adrian’s chest “—you were supposed to help her do it.”

“I didn’t sign up for murder,” Adrian said.

“No,” Damien replied, his voice low and venomous. “But you were part of it. You just didn’t know how deep it went.”

The Truth About Lara

Thunder shook the walls.

Damien paced slowly, like a predator circling prey.

“She didn’t die in that crash,” he said. “Lara’s alive. She planned everything — including this little island miracle of yours.”

Murielle’s breath caught. “That’s not possible.”

“Oh, it’s more than possible,” Damien said, smirking. “She’s been watching him since the day you dragged him off that beach.”

Adrian’s pulse thudded in his ears. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Damien reached into his coat and tossed a photograph onto the table.

It showed Murielle standing outside the clinic — months ago — talking to a woman in sunglasses and a white sunhat.

The face was half hidden, but unmistakable.

Lara Devereux.

Murielle staggered back. “No… I didn’t know who she was. She said she was from a medical board—”

Adrian’s voice cracked. “You met her?”

“I didn’t know!” Murielle cried. “She asked about your condition, about your memory. I thought she was trying to help!”

Damien watched them like a man enjoying his own cruelty. “Touching. Really. But let’s not pretend this was ever about love. You were just another project, Sinclair. The man who forgot too much.”

---

The Fight

Adrian’s hand closed into a fist. “You’re done talking.”

Damien’s eyes flicked downward — toward the flash drive just visible in Adrian’s pocket.

“Then let’s finish this.”

He lunged.

Adrian moved first. The two men crashed into the table, sending the laptop skidding across the floor.

Murielle screamed as lightning flashed through the open doorway.

Damien swung hard, landing a punch that sent Adrian sprawling into the wall.

Pain exploded behind his eyes — but instinct took over.

He kicked out, catching Damien behind the knee, sending him down with a growl.

They grappled across the floor, fists and fury and rain mixing into something primal.

Murielle darted forward, grabbed the nearest object — a heavy glass lamp — and smashed it across Damien’s arm.

He roared, twisting to grab her wrist. “You should’ve stayed out of this!”

Adrian surged up, slamming him backward into the kitchen counter.

The flash drive flew from his pocket, clattering under the couch.

All three froze.

For one heartbeat, the world was nothing but the sound of rain and ragged breathing.

Then Damien dove for it.

---

Fire and Water

Adrian was faster. He grabbed the drive and bolted toward the back door.

Damien followed, shouting his name.

Outside, the storm raged — sheets of rain pounding the sand.

Adrian ran down toward the shoreline, every step sinking into the mud.

Damien caught up, tackling him from behind. They crashed into the surf, cold seawater closing over their heads.

Adrian came up gasping, shoving Damien away. “You’ll never get it!”

Damien laughed through the rain. “Then we both die for nothing.”

He lunged again — but this time, Adrian was ready.

He twisted Damien’s arm, forcing him under the water. For a moment, the world was nothing but bubbles, thunder, and violence.

Then — silence.

Damien went still.

Adrian stumbled back, chest heaving, the flash drive still clutched in his hand.

Aftermath

Murielle ran down the path, rain plastering her hair to her face. “Adrian!”

He turned to her, eyes wild, disbelieving.

“Is he—”

“I don’t know,” Adrian said, shaking his head. “I didn’t want—”

But before he could finish, a flash of movement caught her eye.

In the distance, near the edge of the trees, headlights flickered once — and then vanished.

Someone else had been watching.

Murielle’s hand found his. “We have to go.”

He nodded, heart still pounding.

As they hurried back toward the clinic, thunder rumbled over the sea — a sound like the earth itself groaning awake.

And far behind them, under the storm, a figure rose slowly from the surf.

Damien Cross was not dead.

Not yet.