They Want You
897 Words
Someone was following me.
I noticed it three days after Devon told me the truth.
At first, I convinced myself it was nothing.
The same black car appeared outside the apartment.
Then again near the supermarket.
Then outside Lucy's office.
Every time I looked, it disappeared.
I didn't tell Lucy.
I didn't tell anyone.
But I started paying closer attention to my surroundings.
And that was when I realised something terrifying.
They weren't following me by accident.
They were following me specifically.
That evening, I left the apartment alone.
The street was quiet.
Too quiet.
I walked faster.
Footsteps sounded behind me.
I turned.
Nothing.
I kept walking.
The footsteps continued.
My heart began pounding.
I looked over my shoulder again.
A man stood beneath a streetlight.
He was watching me.
I ran.
“Lisa!”
I heard my name behind me.
I didn't stop.
I turned down another street.
My phone slipped from my hand and hit the pavement.
I didn't stop to pick it up.
I just kept running.
A car screeched to a stop ahead of me.
I froze.
The door opened.
“Lisa!”
I knew that voice.
Devon.
I ran toward him.
“Devon!”
He stepped out immediately.
“What happened?”
“Someone is following me.”
His expression changed instantly.
“Get in.”
I didn't argue.
The moment I got into the car, another vehicle appeared at the end of the street.
Devon got in and started the engine.
“Hold on.”
The car accelerated.
“Who are they?”
“I don't know.”
“They've been watching me.”
“I know.”
I turned toward him.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wanted to keep you away from this.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You failed.”
His jaw tightened.
“I know.”
We drove for several minutes before leaving the city.
The road became darker.
The buildings slowly disappeared behind us.
Then Devon stopped the car beside an old gate hidden between the trees.
He stepped out and placed his hand against the gate.
Silver light spread beneath his palm.
The gate opened.
I stared.
“What…”
“Come.”
I followed him through.
The forest seemed to change around us.
The air became colder.
The silence deepened.
And hidden between the trees stood an old stone house.
An elderly woman was waiting outside.
The moment she saw me, her eyes filled with tears.
“My little princess.”
I stopped.
Devon looked at her.
“You know her?”
The woman stepped closer.
“I've been waiting twenty years.”
My heart began pounding.
“Who are you?”
She gently touched my cheek.
“Someone who promised your mother she would find you.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
Her gaze dropped to the necklace around my neck.
“The royal seal.”
I swallowed.
“What happened to my family?”
The woman looked toward the house.
“Come inside.”
We followed her.
The walls were covered with old photographs.
Then I saw them.
My mother.
My father.
And me.
As a child.
I touched the photograph with trembling fingers.
“That was you,” the woman whispered.
I couldn't speak.
“You were barely three when everything happened.”
“What happened?”
She looked at Devon.
Then back at me.
“Your father trusted the wrong people.”
“Who?”
Her face darkened.
“Someone close to him.”
“Who?”
“Elias.”
The name hit me strangely.
Like I'd heard it before.
The woman continued.
“Elias was your father's closest friend. He knew every secret of the palace. Every passage. Every guard.”
“What did he do?”
“He betrayed your family.”
I stared at her.
“He opened the palace gates the night they came.”
My breathing became shallow.
“Why?”
“Power.”
She walked toward an old cabinet.
“Your father believed Elias would protect you.”
She turned around.
“He was wrong.”
I looked at Devon.
He was watching me silently.
The woman returned with a small wooden box.
“This belonged to your mother.”
She placed it in my hands.
I opened it.
Inside was a faded piece of white fabric.
And beneath it...
a small photograph.
My mother was holding me.
On the back were three words.
Find the northern gate.
I looked up.
“What is the northern gate?”
The woman went silent.
Devon's expression changed.
“Tell her.”
She sighed.
“The northern gate was where your mother was last seen.”
My fingers tightened around the photograph.
“So she's alive?”
The woman didn't answer.
And somehow...
Her silence was more frightening than any answer.
Outside, somewhere beyond the trees, a branch snapped.
Devon immediately stood.
The woman looked toward the window.
“They found us.”
Devon reached for his weapon.
I stood frozen.
The woman grabbed my hand.
“Lisa, listen to me.”
Her voice trembled.
“The people hunting you aren't looking for the necklace.”
I stared at her.
“Then what do they want?”
She looked directly into my eyes.
“They want you.”
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