Chapter Five - The price of silence
918 Words
Alessia’s pulse wouldn’t steady. The flash drive’s weight pressed into the hacker’s tablet screen like a curse, its secrets spilling in lines of glowing code she couldn’t understand. Names. Numbers. Blood debts. Her sister’s legacy.
The three men exchanged looks that said more than words ever could.
The hacker Ezra was the first to break the silence. His lips curved, but his hazel eyes sharpened like blades behind the casual grin. “Well, princess, looks like you’re worth more alive than dead. Who knew?”
Alessia jerked to her feet, her chair scraping the marble floor. “Don’t call me that. I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Neither did we,” the doctor muttered. She spun toward him. He stood in the shadows, rolling his sleeves, the green of his eyes heavy with something she couldn’t read.
Brooding, but deliberate. His presence was calmer than the hacker’s calmer, but somehow more dangerous.
“You said my sister isn’t dead,” Alessia demanded. “Prove it.”
The hacker whistled low, tapping his screen. “Eager, aren’t we?” His fingers flew across the tablet. With a final click, a video appeared.
Alessia’s breath caught. The grainy footage showed the De Santis mansion. Guards swarming. Panic in the halls. And then Celeste. Her sister, alive. Not twisted on the floor in Killian’s chamber but striding down a corridor hours later, veil gone, hair loose, lips curved in a smile Alessia knew too well. Celeste paused at the door, turning once straight toward the hidden camera. The smirk on her face was cruel. Then she vanished into the night.
Alessia staggered back, a hand covering her mouth. “No… I saw her. She said, " Her voice cracked. “I saw her dead.”
“Bodies can be staged,” The hacker repeated smoothly. “Blood can be bought. But expressions?” His grin faltered.
“That smirk was real.” Her knees weakened, but the silent one moved closer, catching her elbow before she collapsed. His touch was steady, his silver-gray eyes unreadable.
“You’re not safe,” he said quietly. His voice was deeper than she expected, controlled, almost gentle despite the words. “Not from her. Not from anyone.”
Alessia looked at him sharply. “Then why help me? Why not just let me die in that mansion?” His gaze didn’t waver.
“Because she spared me once. I owe her. And now… you carry her debt.”A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
“Wonderful. I’ve traded one prison for another.”
Before he could answer, the doctor cut in.
“You’re not a prisoner here. But you’re not free either. Understand that.”
The hacker smirked. “Translation: you’re stuck with us, sweetheart.”
Alessia opened her mouth to retort, but the sound of shattering glass ripped through the room. Everyone froze.
The hacker’s grin dropped instantly as he yanked his headset back on. His fingers flew over the tablet. “They found us.” The lights flickered. Shadows darted across the window as boots thundered up the stairs.
The silent one cursed under his breath, pulling a gun from beneath his jacket. “De Santi's men.”
Panic surged through Alessia. “They’ll kill me!”
“No,” He said flatly, chambering a round. “They’ll take you back. And you’ll wish they killed you.”
The doctor grabbed her wrist, hauling her toward the back door. “Move!”
The hacker was already packing up, muttering under his breath as lines of code vanished from his screen. “They’re jamming signals. Damn it go, go!”
Alessia stumbled after them, heart hammering. Behind her, the front door burst inward. Gunfire erupted, shouts echoing through the halls.
The silent one spun, firing back in precise bursts, covering their escape. His movements were fluid, deadly, the kind of discipline only a killer could master.“Keep running!” he barked.
The doctor shoved Alessia ahead, down a narrow stairwell that smelled of damp concrete. The hacker slid the tablet into a hidden pack, his grin gone, replaced by sharp focus.
The stairwell shook as bullets sparked against the walls above.“Wait!” Alessia screamed, twisting back. The silent one was still there, a dark silhouette against the muzzle flashes. For one terrible heartbeat, she thought he wouldn’t follow.
Then the doctor yanked her forward, his grip iron. “Don’t look back. He knows what he’s doing.”
The back door crashed open, spilling them into the freezing night. Rain slicked the cobblestones, headlights flaring in the distance. The hacker darted to a waiting car, hotwired it in seconds.
“Get in!” The doctor shoved her inside before climbing in after her. The hacker slid behind the wheel, his curls damp with rain, his hazel eyes fierce. The car roared to life. Tires screeched.Through the back window, Alessia caught one last glimpse of the building as the silent one’s figure disappeared into the chaos.
Her throat burned. “He’s still in there!”
The doctor’s jaw was grim. “He knew the risk.”
Alessia pressed her hands to her face, shaking. Her sister’s smirk, the blood on the floor, the drive full of names, it all tangled in her head until she could barely breathe. The city lights blurred past as the hacker sped them into the night.
Alessia whispered, half to herself, half to the shadows pressing in: “What game are you playing, Celeste?”
- Writer
