Chapter 14
982 Words
đź“– CHAPTER 14: Someone Betrayed the Location
The alarm didn’t sound normal.
It wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t chaotic.
It was controlled.
Which meant whoever triggered it already knew what they were doing.
⸻
Adrian moved instantly.
Every trace of hesitation disappeared from his face.
“Mira,” he said sharply, “lock the east corridor.”
She nodded immediately.
No questions.
That alone terrified Elara more than the alarm itself.
⸻
“What’s happening?” Elara asked quickly.
Adrian grabbed a tablet from the table.
“Someone breached the perimeter.”
Her stomach tightened.
“You said this place was safe.”
“It was.”
That answer hit wrong.
⸻
Mira looked pale now.
“They shouldn’t even know this location exists.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“They didn’t.”
A pause.
Then colder:
“Someone told them.”
⸻
Silence.
Heavy.
Immediate.
⸻
Elara frowned. “You mean there’s a traitor?”
Neither of them answered.
Which was basically a yes.
⸻
Another alarm pulse echoed softly through the building.
Closer this time.
⸻
Adrian looked at Elara.
“Stay here.”
She blinked. “Absolutely not.”
“Elara.”
“No.” She stepped back slightly. “Every time you tell me to stay somewhere, armed people appear!”
For the first time in hours—
A tiny flicker crossed his expression.
Almost amusement.
Almost.
Then it vanished.
⸻
“This isn’t a debate,” he said calmly.
“That sounds exactly like a debate.”
Mira looked between them like this was the worst possible moment for tension.
Which honestly… it was.
⸻
Adrian stepped closer.
Lowered his voice slightly.
“If they see you, they won’t try to kill you.”
Elara frowned.
“…that’s supposed to comfort me?”
“No.”
A pause.
“It’s supposed to scare you.”
That worked.
⸻
Silence settled heavily between them.
Then Elara asked quietly:
“What do they actually want from me?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“The part of you they lost.”
⸻
That sentence made absolutely no sense.
And yet somehow it felt important.
⸻
Before she could ask more—
The lights flickered again.
Then cut out completely.
⸻
Darkness swallowed the room.
Mira cursed softly under her breath.
Elara stiffened instantly.
“Okay, I officially hate the dramatic lighting in your life.”
No response.
Just movement.
Fast movement.
⸻
A second later emergency backup lights activated.
Dim red glow.
Barely enough to see.
⸻
Adrian was already near the door.
Listening.
Focused.
⸻
Then—
Footsteps.
Outside.
Slow.
Measured.
Not hiding anymore.
⸻
Mira whispered, “They’re inside.”
Elara’s chest tightened immediately.
“How many?”
Adrian answered without turning.
“Too many.”
⸻
That was NOT comforting.
⸻
A sharp sound echoed down the hallway.
Metal scraping.
Then—
A scream.
Brief.
Cut off instantly.
⸻
Elara froze.
“…was that security?”
No one answered.
That silence was becoming the scariest thing in the world.
⸻
Adrian reached into his jacket again.
This time pulling out something different.
Not a weapon exactly.
Another device.
Smaller.
Silver.
⸻
Elara stared at it.
“What is that?”
“Insurance.”
“That is not a real explanation.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting right now.”
⸻
Mira moved toward a hidden cabinet quickly.
Opening it with shaking hands.
Inside were emergency passports.
Cash.
Phones.
Prepared escape kits.
⸻
Elara blinked rapidly.
“You people REALLY expected this kind of thing to happen.”
Mira looked at her sadly.
“It already happened once.”
Silence.
That line hit too hard.
⸻
Adrian’s phone buzzed suddenly.
He checked it once.
Expression darkening immediately.
⸻
Mira noticed.
“What?”
A long pause.
Then Adrian said quietly:
“The breach came from inside the network.”
Elara frowned.
“…meaning?”
His eyes lifted slowly.
“Someone close to us gave them access.”
⸻
Another silence.
But this one felt different.
Sharper.
Personal.
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Mira whispered, “Who?”
Adrian looked toward the hallway.
Then said one name.
“Selene.”
⸻
Elara blinked.
“The woman from Cole Enterprises?”
Mira’s face fell instantly.
“No…”
Adrian’s voice stayed calm.
Too calm.
“She sold the location.”
⸻
Something in his tone made it worse.
Not anger.
Disappointment.
Like betrayal was familiar to him already.
⸻
Suddenly—
A loud crash exploded from somewhere deeper in the building.
Closer now.
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Mira flinched hard.
“They’re coming.”
Adrian turned immediately toward Elara.
“When I open the west exit, you run.”
She frowned. “What about you?”
“I’ll handle the delay.”
“That sounds suspiciously self-sacrificial.”
He ignored that completely.
⸻
Elara stepped closer instead.
“No.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“No?”
“You keep acting like you’re staying behind every five minutes.”
“That’s because I usually do.”
“That is NOT healthy behavior!”
Even Mira stared at them for a second.
⸻
And somehow—
Despite the danger—
A tiny almost-smile pulled briefly at Adrian’s mouth.
Gone so fast Elara almost thought she imagined it.
⸻
Then the hallway door slammed violently.
Something hit the other side.
Hard.
⸻
Everyone turned instantly.
Another hit.
Closer.
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Mira whispered:
“They found this room.”
⸻
Adrian moved in front of Elara automatically.
Again.
Always again.
⸻
And this time—
She noticed something terrifying.
He wasn’t protecting her because of a contract anymore.
He was protecting her because losing her was not an option.
⸻
The third impact cracked the door.
⸻
Then a distorted voice echoed through the hallway:
“RETURN SUBJECT ELENA VALE.”
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Elara’s blood ran cold.
Because this time—
They used her real name.
⸻
đź“Ś END OF CHAPTER 14
- Writer
