Chapter 10
888 Words
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📖 CHAPTER 10: Outside Still Isn’t Safe
The moment Elara reached the street, the world felt… wrong.
Not different.
Wrong.
Cars passed.
People talked.
A vendor shouted prices across the road like nothing had just almost collapsed under a private war beneath a building.
But Elara couldn’t breathe properly.
Her hands were still shaking.
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She turned back once.
The Cole Enterprises building stood still.
Too still.
Like nothing had happened inside it.
Like it was trained to pretend.
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Elara whispered, “What is happening to me…”
Her phone buzzed.
She jumped slightly.
Unknown number again.
Her fingers hesitated… then she opened it.
“You were not meant to leave yet.”
Her stomach dropped.
She looked around immediately.
Too many people.
Too many eyes.
But none of them looked at her twice.
Still—
She felt watched.
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Behind her, the building doors opened.
Elara spun instantly.
Adrian stepped out.
No guards.
No rush.
Just him.
Like the chaos inside never touched him.
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Elara exhaled sharply. “You said you’d follow.”
“I did.”
A pause.
“You ran faster than expected.”
She scoffed. “I didn’t exactly want to stay for round two of whatever that was.”
Adrian glanced briefly back at the building.
Then returned his gaze to her.
“They won’t come out here,” he said.
Elara frowned. “How do you know?”
A beat.
Then:
“Because this is controlled ground.”
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That sentence made her pause.
“Controlled by who?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at her properly.
Like he was deciding how much truth she could handle.
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Then he said:
“Not Cole Enterprises.”
Silence.
That hit harder than everything before.
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Elara’s voice dropped slightly.
“Then who?”
Adrian stepped closer—but not too close.
Just enough that his voice didn’t get lost in the noise around them.
“There are levels to this,” he said.
“You’re only seeing one.”
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Elara laughed once, but it wasn’t real.
“I didn’t even know there were levels.”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
“That’s the point.”
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A car slowed nearby.
Dark tinted windows.
Idling.
Elara immediately stepped back. “Is that yours?”
“No.”
Her stomach tightened again.
“Then whose is it?”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“…we’re leaving.”
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Elara frowned. “Leaving where?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he opened the car door.
Not gently.
Not forcefully.
Just decisively.
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Elara didn’t move.
“I’m not getting into a random car after everything that just happened.”
Adrian looked at her.
And for the first time—
A trace of something like frustration showed.
“You either get in,” he said,
“or you get found.”
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That made her pause.
“…found by who?”
He didn’t answer.
That silence was answer enough.
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Elara got in.
Reluctantly.
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The car moved immediately.
No hesitation.
No destination displayed.
Just motion.
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Elara sat rigidly.
“This is insane,” she muttered again.
Adrian sat across from her.
Calm again.
Too calm.
Like the chaos earlier was just another meeting.
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“You’re too calm,” she said suddenly.
He glanced at her.
“I’m not calm.”
She frowned. “You look calm.”
A pause.
Then:
“I’m controlled.”
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Elara stared at him.
“That’s worse.”
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The car passed through multiple roads she didn’t recognize.
Longer route.
Deliberate avoidance.
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Elara finally asked:
“Why are people after me?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“Because you exist in their system again.”
She frowned. “Again?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
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Elara leaned forward slightly.
“I don’t understand anything you’re saying.”
Adrian met her eyes.
Then said something quieter:
“You will.”
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The car slowed.
Stopped.
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Elara looked out the window.
A building.
Smaller.
Hidden.
Not like Cole Enterprises.
This one didn’t want attention.
It avoided it.
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“Where are we?” she asked.
Adrian opened the door.
Then said:
“Somewhere they can’t reach you easily.”
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Elara stepped out slowly.
“…this feels like a downgrade.”
Adrian didn’t react.
“You’ll get used to it.”
She turned to him.
“I don’t want to get used to this.”
A pause.
Then he said:
“You already are.”
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Silence.
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Before she could respond—
His phone rang.
He answered immediately.
No greeting.
Just listening.
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His expression changed slightly.
Not panic.
Focus.
Then he said:
“Confirm.”
A pause.
Then:
“…she’s awake?”
Elara froze.
“Who is awake?” she asked immediately.
Adrian didn’t look at her.
Just said into the phone:
“Bring her in.”
Then hung up.
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Elara’s stomach dropped.
“…Adrian?”
He finally looked at her.
And for the first time since she met him—
He didn’t hide the truth in silence.
He said it directly:
“You’re about to meet the part of your past you don’t remember.”
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And that was when Elara realized—
Running didn’t matter anymore.
Because whatever was chasing her…
already knew exactly where she was going next.
- Writer
