CHAPTER TEN:A VISITOR FROM THE PAST
953 Words
The silver bullet gleamed under the morning light.
Ariana couldn't tear her eyes away from it.
The message beneath it was short, but every word carried the weight of a death sentence.
YOU SURVIVED ONCE.
Her fingers instinctively moved to her stomach.
The room felt colder.
Whoever had left the envelope wasn't trying to frighten her.
They were making a promise.
Ethan slipped on a pair of gloves before carefully examining the envelope.
"No fingerprints."
He turned it over.
"No return address."
He looked at one of the security guards.
"Search every inch of the property."
"I want footprints, tire tracks, broken branches—anything."
The guards scattered immediately.
Dr. Evelyn stepped closer to Ariana.
"Come inside."
Ariana didn't move.
"If they found me here..."
"They'll come again."
Ethan nodded.
"They will."
"But next time..."
"...we'll be ready."
An hour later, the estate's security team gathered inside the control room.
One of the guards enlarged the surveillance footage.
"There."
He pointed at the screen.
A figure dressed entirely in black appeared for less than four seconds.
His face remained hidden beneath a hood.
Yet one detail stood out.
He walked with absolute confidence.
Not like a thief.
Not like a frightened intruder.
Like a trained professional.
Ethan paused the video.
"Zoom in."
The image sharpened slightly.
The man's left wrist came into view.
A faded tattoo.
A black wolf.
Ethan's expression changed instantly.
Dr. Evelyn noticed.
"You know that symbol."
He remained silent for several seconds.
"I was hoping I'd never see it again."
Ariana looked between them.
"What does it mean?"
Ethan folded his arms.
"It belongs to a private assassination group."
"They don't work for money alone."
"They only accept contracts from powerful clients."
Ariana's heartbeat quickened.
"You think Selena hired them?"
"I don't know."
"But whoever did..."
"...has deep pockets."
Across the city...
Damien stood inside Ariana's old art studio.
He hadn't entered the room since her funeral.
Everything remained exactly as she'd left it.
Half-finished paintings leaned against the walls.
Brushes rested inside cloudy jars of water that had long since evaporated.
The scent of oil paint still lingered faintly in the air.
His gaze settled on an unfinished canvas.
It showed the two of them standing beneath a field of white roses.
Only...
His face hadn't been painted yet.
She never got the chance to finish it.
He gently touched the edge of the canvas.
"I'm sorry."
The words escaped before he realized he'd spoken.
A knock interrupted the silence.
Noah entered.
"I found something."
Damien turned.
"What?"
"The GPS device attached to Mrs. Ashford's car."
"We traced its manufacturer."
"And?"
"It isn't sold to the public."
Damien frowned.
"Who buys them?"
"Military contractors."
"And private security firms."
Noah hesitated.
"There's one more thing."
"The same model was involved in three unsolved assassinations over the last five years."
Damien's face darkened.
"So..."
"Ariana wasn't the victim of a random attack."
"No."
"Someone hired professionals."
Meanwhile...
Selena sat across from a sharply dressed man inside an exclusive members-only club.
He stirred his espresso slowly.
"You seem nervous."
"I have reason to be."
"The board has suspended my authority."
The man smiled faintly.
"Temporary setbacks happen."
"You don't understand."
"A woman named Aurora Blake appeared out of nowhere."
"She has documents no one else should possess."
The man leaned back.
"Then find out who gave them to her."
"I already have people working on it."
He took a slow sip of coffee.
"And if she can't be bought?"
Selena's eyes turned cold.
"She'll disappear."
The man studied her for a long moment.
"You sound exactly like your father."
Selena stiffened.
"Don't compare me to him."
A faint smile crossed his lips.
"You already have."
Back at the mountain estate...
Ethan received a secure phone call.
He answered immediately.
"Report."
A familiar voice replied.
"We've identified the assassin."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"Name."
"Lucas Kane."
Ariana looked up sharply.
"Who's Lucas Kane?"
Ethan ended the call before answering.
"He was one of the military's best snipers."
"What happened?"
"He disappeared after a classified mission."
"Years later..."
"...he resurfaced as a contract killer."
Dr. Evelyn folded her arms.
"Has he ever failed?"
Ethan looked directly at Ariana.
"Not once."
Silence settled over the room.
For the first time since escaping death...
Ariana realized she wasn't simply hiding from the past.
The past had sent its deadliest hunter to find her.
That evening, Ethan led Ariana to a shooting range hidden beneath the estate.
She looked at him in surprise.
"A shooting range?"
"If you're going to fight people willing to kill you..."
"...you need to learn how to protect yourself."
He placed a pistol on the table.
"I'm not asking you to become a killer."
"I'm asking you to survive."
Ariana stared at the weapon.
Only weeks ago, she had been an accountant who hated violence.
Now...
She was learning to prepare for war.
She picked up the pistol with unsteady hands.
Ethan adjusted her grip.
"Good."
"Again."
She fired.
The shot missed the target completely.
Ethan didn't criticize her.
He simply reset the target.
"Again."
She fired a second time.
Closer.
A third shot.
Closer still.
By sunset, she had stopped shaking.
Ethan watched her lower the pistol.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"You're learning."
Ariana looked at the paper target.
One bullet had landed near the center.
She wasn't proud of it.
She was saddened by what it represented.
The woman she used to be was fading.
In her place...
Someone stronger was being born.
Just then, Ethan's phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen, and the color drained from his face.
"What is it?" Ariana asked.
He slowly looked up.
"Our inside source at Vale Biotech..."
"...has been murdered."
- Writer
