The killer !

Episode 2: The hide game!

Today , the moon looked farther away , still shining wounds across the sleeping city. But Rose couldn't sleep.

Her eyes kept bombing back to the old notebook resting beside her nightstand. The worn-out leather Jacket seemed to have a pulse in the dark like it really held air within . That one line — “Protect the girl with the blue eyes. Lucas will find her.” — echoed louder than her heartbeat.

Who is Lucas, now ? And why does his name feel like a scar across her soul?What's the next storm!

Suddenly, her phone lit up with a notification.

UNKNOWN NUMBER:

They’re coming. Don’t trust anyone. Especially not the man with the round ring.

Rose sat up, a cold sweat broke across her forehead, she felt choked for a second.

What kinda ring? Who is this now !

She tried calling back on the same number , but it beeped back with a wrong number voice.

Across town…

A quick fire crackled inside the old little villa outside the window . The man in the chair — half-lit, half-shadow — stared into the flames like he could rewrite the past. He wore a heavy diamond ring on his left hand — a silver crest of a winged eagle.

The black-coated old stranger stood by the window.

“Maybe ,She’s started remembering,still having doubts over her appearance ” the man said, almost to himself.

The old man nodded. “It’s beginning. You were right. I guess, The notebook survived.”

The man’s face intensified, “I doubt about the notebook , everything got burned with the flames, still, If she opens that book completely, it won’t just be memories that return,but everything that we ever lost together”

He clenched his jaw. “And if they find her before I do…”

The little silence spoke what words could not.

Back at Rose’s apartment…

For Rose, the night passed in fragments, tossing and turning. Shadows danced across the ceiling as Rose dozed and woke in anxious jolts.

At dawn, she found herself sketching in half sleep . A familiar face. A boy’s face. Dark blue eyes, sharp jaw, soft expression. The same eyes… her eyes. But it wasn’t a stranger.

It was Lucas.

Eyes brimmed with tears before she realized it. Her hand started to tremble .

She whispered, “I failed you , right ?”

Just then, Tasha burst in — hungover, high heels in hand, hair wild, and a little drunk. She threw multiple questions in one go at Rose.

“Girl, why are you up? Did you even sleep for a second ? Your eyes look puffy! And why are you crying at 6 a.m.? Drama alert or something?”

Rose quickly wiped her tears. “Just… bad dreams.”

Tasha tried to lighten the situation with a playful remark.

“Oh no, alright Unless those dreams got hot sculpted abs and F1 speeds, I don’t wanna hear about it.”

But Rose wasn’t smiling. Her voice barely held: “Do you know someone named Lucas?”

Tasha blinked, surprised. “Lucas? Weird Name , No. Why? All of a sudden!”

Rose hesitated a little. “Just a name from my past memory… I think.”

Tasha shrugged and fell face-first on the bed. “We all got ghosts. You're just wearing cologne now.”

Later that day, at the café…

It was unusually quieter than usual.

Aunty Veolia hadn’t shown up yet. Customers tripped in and out, but Rose couldn’t focus. Every door chime made her flinch. Every face looked suspect. And then…

He walked in.

Not the old man. Someone younger. Late 20s. Tall. Clean-cut suit. Dark brown eyes that flicked around like they were trained to steal every aura. He had that calm confidence of someone who knew how to hide danger in plain sight.

He sat by the window and waited — not for coffee. But for her.

Reluctantly,Rose walked up. “Welcome to Xerox Café. How can we serve you, sir?”

He didn’t smile. “You’re Rose, right?”

She froze. “…How…ummm…Do I know you?”

“No. But I know you.”

He leaned forward, pulling out a small velvet pouch. From it, he placed something on the table — a silver ring, engraved with the same eagle wings that flashed in the notebook.

Her blood ran cold and hot in one second.

“I was told… not to trust the man with the eagle ring ,” she whispered, little to herself.

He almost heard her.

“And who told you that?” he asked softly, as if in shock.

She didn’t answer, and froze in silence.

“I’m not here to harm you anyways,” he said. “I’m here to warn you beforehand. You’re not safe dear, Rose. There are dangerous people in the dark woods , who will do anything to get to you . You have something… something very precious.”

“What are you talking about?” she snapped. “And , first of all, Who are you?”

He looked at her with a strange mix of pity and awe. “You really don’t remember yet… Do you?”

Before she could respond, a loud crash shattered the moment — the front glass window exploded inward. Screams followed.

Two masked figures stormed in.

The man with the ring immediately turned up the table, shielding Rose. Bullets fired— sharp and sudden.

“RUN!” he shouted, grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards the back door.

Rose crooked, her world tilting, heart thumping like a trapped animal. They ran through the back door into the front alley.

The man pulled her behind a dumpster, breath ragged. “They got to you faster than I thought …”

Rose gasped, “What the hell is going on ?”

But instead of answering, he grabbed her shoulders and said, “Do you want to survive, Rose?”

She was terrified with a heavy heart.

“Then come with me. Now.”

The city raced by in blurs of steel and glass as the black car sped down the freeway. Inside, Rose sat tightly in the passenger seat, lips curled up in nervousness, her arms wrapped around herself. She was trembling with every breath.

The man with the silver ring hadn’t spoken since they escaped the cafe surprise attack. His hands clutched the wheel like a mafia with a mission. Every other second , he looked into the rear -view mirror.

Finally, Rose couldn’t handle the sheer silence.

“What's all this happening all of a sudden, you gonna tell me or not?” she asked in a cold voice.

“Somewhere isolated and safer,” he said, keeping his calm.

She turned to him. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Elias.”

“Elias what?”

He glanced at her. “My name doesnt matter as of now, something else does”

Rose , frustrated , “Wow , how funny, an armed man, a ring I was told to fear, and now no definite name. Are you sure that you are not trapping me into all this nonsense?”

He banged the brakes. The car stretched to a halt on a lonely stretch of road lined with trees. Elias turned toward her with a red and stony face.

“Miss, You should thank me instead of mocking me , I’m the reason that you are still breathing. By now , they might had taken you”

Her voice rose in shock,“Taken?By whom?And What this all have to do with me?”

Elias stared at her for a long second. “Not what… who?”

Flashback – 17 years ago…

A white house burning in fire.

A woman screaming in pain , a name…Alora!

A small boy pulled her by the hand…Lucas.

A notebook bound into her arms.

“Whatever happens, don’t lose it .No matter what happens, this will lead you back to us”

The memory shattered like glass.

Back to the present…

Rose gasped. “Alora…?”

Elias’s eyes met hers. “Yes. Don’t you know? That’s your real name .”

“No… no, this is crazy. How is it possible”

“Someone took you from a secret family, hidden. We thought it was over when the house burned… but someone knew. Someone wanted you alive… for advantage”

“Advantage , you mean leverage ? But for what?

“Everything will be clear, very soon.” Elias sighed and restarted the car.

Hours later…

They arrived at the ruined abandoned house in the forest , broad grey stone walls smothered by ivy, rusted iron gates , windows worn out.

“This was your family’s second home,” Elias said. “Abandoned after the fire.”

Rose stared in disbelief. “This… my family ,which family?”

Both walked through the ruined home— shattered sculptures and ruined mirrors!

Elias handed her a flashlight. “It’s time to dig out the truth , Rose .”

In a half-painted broken sculpture, Rose noticed a side portrait ,still hanging by a nail , blurred with ashes still noticeable eyes.

Blue. Her eyes. Her mother’s eyes.

She came closer to the burnt portrait. Beneath the hanging frame , something was pinged with a message.

“If Alora returns, show her the mirror before it vanishes”

Elias gently removed a cracked wall portrait — behind it, a mirror coated in crud.

“It’s not just a mirror,” Elias said. “ Something to remember , An old technology your family helped create… it reads emotion, memory patterns. Stare long enough, and it gives you back what’s buried.”

Rose hesitated.

“What if I’m not ready for what I see?”

“Humans are always more stronger than they think”

Looking in the mirror, she stepped forward.

And it began.

Flashback – The True Memory

A hidden laboratory in the middle of the jungle.

A bearded man, her father — a scientist, working on neuron chemistry.

A red-haired woman, her mother — crying, warning him: “They’re coming for the formula, for Alira. She is the key to every mystery , why telling them !”

A group breaking in — armed and masked.

Lucas hiding her under the side table.

Whispers:

“Protect her. Don’t ever tell her who she is… unless the war returns.”

Rose jerked back from the mirror, breath shattered.

“I… I saw them. Are they my parents…. Yes, real parents, Lucas. He… he saved me”

Elias nodded. “Vengeance is the purest form of emotion”.

Meanwhile, across the city…

The man in the villa listened as another figure stepped into the light.

“She remembers everything now,” said the stranger. “The mirror worked as said”

“So, finally , It’s the correct time to bring her home !”, that man smirked beneath his teeth.

“But she’s with that mafia , Elias.”

The man’s voice turned to steel. “Then Elish should die as soon as possible!”

Back at the ruins…

Rose was standing in the garden, tight legs , alone, wind sweeping her hair, face pale but eyes burning in anger.

“I’m not racing anymore, I won’t run away this time ,” she said with a mix of grief and rage.

Elias turned to her. “In that case, You need proper training ,right from mind, body. , memory to everything.”

She looked at him, her voice trembling with two emotions at the same time,fear and fury .

“And Where is Lucas?”

Elias stared at the night sky, jaw tight. “If he’s alive… he’s waiting.”

Rose gripped the notebook in her hands.

Finally , The girl with the Blue eyes reflected revenge in her eyes .