CHAPTER 6 - The Woman in Glass
515 Words
Rafe grabbed Naina’s arm.
Not hard. Not controlling.
Urgent.
“We’re not alone anymore,” he said.
Naina’s pulse hammered. “That elevator—”
Rafe nodded. “Someone is coming down.”
Naina clutched Meera’s scarf. “We need to go.”
Rafe looked at the hidden panel, then at the doorway. “If we go up, they’ll see us. If we stay, they’ll catch us.”
Naina swallowed. “Then where?”
Rafe’s jaw clenched. “There’s another corridor out—maintenance.”
He shoved the burner phone into his pocket and moved to the far wall.
Another seam.
Another hidden door.
Atlas didn’t just hide luxury.
It hid exits.
Rafe popped the panel and pulled the door open.
A narrow service tunnel stretched ahead, lit by dim fluorescents.
“Go,” Rafe whispered.
Naina ran.
They sprinted through the tunnel, footsteps echoing.
Behind them, a soft sound—an elevator bell.
Then a woman’s voice, clear and close, amplified by the concrete:
“Rafe Mercer.”
Rafe froze for half a second.
Naina grabbed his sleeve. “Don’t stop.”
Rafe’s jaw clenched and he kept running.
They reached a door that opened into an underground parking bay.
Only one car sat there—black, sleek, too expensive.
And beside it stood a woman in a white coat, hair perfectly pinned, holding a tablet like she was about to take notes.
She smiled when she saw them.
Not warm.
Satisfied.
“Hello, Naina,” she said.
Naina stopped dead. “Who are you?”
The woman’s smile widened. “Dr. Liora Voss.”
Rafe went still.
His voice came out low. “Voss.”
Liora’s eyes slid to him. “Yes. You remember.”
Rafe’s jaw clenched. “You run the basement.”
Liora laughed softly. “I run the building’s problems.”
Naina’s stomach turned. “Where is my sister?”
Liora’s gaze was calm. “Alive.”
Naina’s breath hitched.
Liora continued, casual: “For now.”
Rafe took one step forward, voice low. “Let her go.”
Liora’s smile sharpened. “No.”
She lifted her tablet and tapped it once.
The garage door behind them rolled down with a heavy metallic sound.
Sealing them in.
Naina’s blood ran cold.
Liora’s eyes stayed on Naina.
“Meera took something,” she said. “And she hid it where she thought no one would look.”
Liora stepped closer, voice silky.
“With you,” she said.
Naina’s stomach dropped.
Rafe’s face went hard.
“Don’t touch her,” he said.
Liora smiled.
“I’m not going to touch her,” she said. “I’m going to make her choose.”
Then she nodded toward the black car.
“Get in,” she said.
Naina’s breath caught. “No.”
Liora’s smile didn’t change.
“Then you’ll watch the video,” she said.
She tapped her tablet again.
A screen on the garage wall lit up.
A live feed.
Meera, tied to a chair, face bruised, eyes open.
Looking straight into the camera.
And Meera mouthed one word:
RUN.
- Writer
