Chapter 5
1691 Words
🖤 Chapter 5 — The Truth They Buried in You
The estate was no longer a home.
It was a battlefield.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the corridors like thunder trapped inside stone walls. Glass shattered somewhere above them, followed by shouting, boots rushing, and the sharp crack of commands being given in a language Elena could barely process.
She pressed herself against the cold wall inside the hidden corridor, her breathing uneven, her body trembling so hard she thought she might collapse.
Xander stood in front of her.
Not fully facing her.
Not fully facing the chaos outside either.
He was somewhere in between—like a man controlling two wars at once.
“Elena,” he said sharply.
She flinched at her name.
“I didn’t do anything!” she cried immediately. “This is not my fault! I don’t even understand why everyone keeps—”
A loud explosion cut her off.
The wall behind them shook violently.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Elena screamed and covered her head.
Xander didn’t move.
His eyes only narrowed slightly.
Then he turned his head toward one of his men rushing down the hallway.
“Seal the west corridor,” he ordered coldly. “No one enters the inner wing.”
“Yes, boss!” the man shouted before disappearing.
Elena stared at him in disbelief.
“How can you be so calm right now? People are literally attacking your house!”
Xander finally turned fully toward her.
His expression wasn’t calm anymore.
It was focused.
Controlled danger.
“This is not an attack on my house,” he said.
Elena’s chest tightened.
“Then what is it?!”
A pause.
Xander stepped closer.
Not aggressively.
But enough to make her feel trapped in place.
“It is an extraction operation,” he said quietly.
Elena frowned in confusion.
“Extraction of what?”
Silence.
Then:
“You.”
The word hit harder than any explosion outside.
Elena shook her head immediately.
“No. No, that doesn’t make sense. I don’t have anything. I’m nobody.”
Xander studied her face carefully.
For a moment, something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
Then he said:
“That is exactly why they want you.”
Before she could respond, another blast shook the estate.
The lights flickered.
Emergency systems activated.
Red warnings flashed faintly through the corridor.
Xander grabbed her wrist instantly.
“Move,” he ordered.
“I’m not going anywhere until you explain—”
Another explosion.
Closer this time.
The wall cracked.
Xander pulled her forward forcefully.
“Elena,” he said sharply, “if you hesitate again, you will die in this corridor.”
That silenced her instantly.
He dragged her deeper into the inner section of the estate.
The air changed there.
Heavier.
Quieter.
More controlled.
They stopped inside a reinforced room.
Steel doors.
No windows.
Only emergency lighting.
Elena pulled her hand away immediately.
“Stop treating me like I’m some object you can drag around!”
Xander didn’t respond right away.
Instead, he walked to the wall panel and activated security locks.
Heavy mechanical sounds echoed.
Then he turned back to her.
“You think this is about control?” he asked.
Elena’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
“What else am I supposed to think?! You kidnapped me, people are shooting at me, and now I’m trapped in your war!”
Xander stepped closer again.
This time, slower.
Deliberate.
“You are not trapped in my war,” he said.
A pause.
“You are the reason it started.”
Elena froze.
Something cold crawled down her spine.
“That’s impossible…”
Xander’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Is it?”
Another explosion echoed somewhere far above them.
The ground trembled faintly.
But inside that room, everything felt too still.
Too focused.
Xander took a step closer.
“Elena Carter,” he said slowly, “tell me what you remember about the assignment six months ago.”
Elena blinked.
“What assignment?”
His gaze sharpened.
“The private documentation project. Restricted access. Government-linked contractors.”
Elena shook her head quickly.
“I did freelance photography. I went to events. I took pictures. That’s all.”
Xander didn’t break eye contact.
“That is what you were told you were doing.”
Her stomach dropped slightly.
“What do you mean… told?”
Xander studied her for a long moment.
Then said:
“You were inside a controlled data capture operation.”
Elena frowned.
“I don’t understand what that even means.”
Xander stepped toward the wall display and activated it.
A blurred image appeared.
Security footage.
Elena saw herself.
Standing in a formal event hall.
Camera in hand.
Surrounded by men in suits she did not recognize.
Her breath caught.
“I… I remember that event,” she whispered.
Xander turned slightly.
“Do you remember what you recorded?”
Elena shook her head slowly.
“I deleted everything afterward…”
Xander’s voice dropped slightly.
“No.”
That single word made her look up sharply.
“You didn’t delete everything.”
Silence stretched.
Then Xander continued:
“You uploaded it to a secured backup system. Automatic sync.”
Elena shook her head harder.
“No, I always disable—”
“You didn’t that night,” he interrupted.
Her throat tightened.
“That night… I was exhausted. I might have forgotten—”
Xander stepped closer.
“Good,” he said.
Elena froze.
“What do you mean good?! People are trying to kill me because of this!”
Xander didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, he looked at her differently now.
Like he was seeing a missing piece finally fall into place.
Then he said:
“They are not trying to kill you because you recorded something.”
Elena’s heart pounded.
“Then why?!”
Xander’s voice dropped lower.
“Because you are the only one who still has access to the original file.”
Her breath stopped.
“What file?! I don’t even know what you’re talking about anymore!”
A loud impact echoed outside the room.
Something hit the outer walls.
Hard.
The entire room vibrated slightly.
Xander didn’t react.
His focus stayed on her.
“That file contains identities,” he said. “Financial transfers. Private agreements between organizations that should never be exposed.”
Elena shook her head slowly.
“I didn’t see anything like that…”
Xander stepped closer again.
His voice was quieter now.
“That is because the visible layer was removed.”
Elena’s lips parted slightly.
“There was more?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then:
“And you are the only one who ever saw the complete version.”
Her knees weakened slightly.
“I didn’t know…” she whispered.
Xander watched her carefully.
“I believe you,” he said.
That surprised her.
“You… do?”
“Yes,” he replied.
A pause.
“Which is why you are still alive.”
Another explosion rocked the estate.
This time closer.
Alarms intensified.
Xander turned slightly toward the door.
His entire posture changed again.
War mode returning.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
Elena grabbed his arm suddenly.
“No! I’m not staying alone in a locked room while people are trying to kill me!”
Xander looked down at her hand on his arm.
Then back at her face.
“Then stay behind me,” he said.
That was not permission.
It was instruction.
The door system beeped.
A warning.
Breach detected.
Xander’s eyes sharpened instantly.
“Elena,” he said quietly, “whatever happens next… do not let go of me.”
Her heart pounded.
“What is happening?”
Before he could answer—
The door exploded inward.
Metal screamed.
Smoke flooded the room.
Elena screamed and stumbled back.
Figures rushed inside.
Armed.
Fast.
Xander moved instantly.
He pushed Elena behind him and engaged.
Everything became chaos.
Gunfire.
Movement.
Shadows colliding in tight space.
Elena covered her ears, shaking violently.
She couldn’t see clearly.
Only flashes.
Xander moving like something inhumanly precise.
Controlled violence.
One attacker broke through and lunged toward her.
“Elena!” Xander shouted.
She turned—
Too late.
The man grabbed her arm.
She screamed—
A gunshot.
The man collapsed instantly.
Xander caught her immediately before she fell.
For a second, everything went still again.
Elena clutched his shirt, shaking uncontrollably.
Her breath came in broken gasps.
Xander looked down at her.
And for the first time—
Something changed in his expression.
Not cold.
Not controlled.
Something sharper.
Possessive.
Final.
The remaining attackers retreated.
Silence slowly returned.
Smoke lingered.
Alarms continued faintly.
Elena slowly lifted her head.
“What… is happening to me?” she whispered.
Xander didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward the broken doorway.
Then said quietly:
“They are not stopping.”
Elena’s voice broke.
“Why me?”
Xander finally turned back to her.
And said the words that froze everything:
“Because you are not just a witness.”
A pause.
“You are the origin of everything they are trying to hide.”
Elena shook her head.
“I don’t understand…”
Xander stepped closer.
And this time, his voice was lower.
Heavier.
Final.
“You are not Elena Carter by accident.”
Silence.
Then:
“You were chosen.”
Elena’s breath stopped.
“What does that mean?!”
Xander looked at her for a long moment.
Then said:
“It means your life started long before you remember it beginning.”
A loud alarm suddenly screamed again.
Different this time.
Internal breach alert.
Xander’s expression changed instantly.
Someone inside the system had triggered it.
He looked at her.
Then at the door.
Then back at her again.
And said quietly:
“Now they’ve opened the final door.”
Elena stepped back slightly.
“What final door?”
Xander’s voice dropped.
“Your past.”
Before she could respond—
A new voice echoed through the estate speakers.
Calm.
Familiar.
And chilling.
“We found her.”
Elena froze completely.
Because she recognized that voice.
Even though she couldn’t remember why.
And Xander… went completely still beside her.
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