Chapter 4 - A Voice at the Door

Ethan took a step toward the door before Lena caught his sleeve.

“That's not her,” she whispered.

The voice came again. “Ethan. It's freezing out here.”

His stomach twisted. Mia always said that after late shifts at the diner, making the same complaint even in July. He reached for the lock.

Lena shoved a phone into his hand. On the screen was an audio file titled MIA_SAMPLE_07. She hit play. His sister's voice filled the room, word for word, with that same tired little laugh at the end.

“They recorded everyone,” Lena said. “Voices. Faces. Everything.”

The front doorknob rattled. Ethan killed the lamp and pulled Lena into the hallway. A second later, the lock gave way. Two black-clad men entered with flashlights and suppressed pistols.

Ethan knew the building better than they did. He pushed a shelf into their path, dragged Lena through the laundry room, and kicked open the rusted fire door. They ran down five flights while boots pounded above.

At the back exit, Lena stopped dead. A black SUV blocked the alley.

“Roof,” Ethan said.

“That's up.”

“Then run up.”

They climbed until their legs burned. On the roof, the city spread below them, wet and bright. Ethan crossed a narrow maintenance bridge to the neighboring building and reached back. Lena's fingers slipped from his once. He caught her wrist.

“Look at me,” he said. “Not down.”

She jumped. They landed together and rolled behind an air conditioner as the first gunman appeared across the gap.

Ethan's phone rang. The name on the screen made his blood freeze: MIA.

He answered without speaking.

A woman's breath crackled over the line. “The button was mine,” she said. “I planted it. Don't trust Nora.”

“Mia?”

“If you go to the pier, they're going to make you choose again.”

“Where are you?”

A long pause. Then his sister whispered, “I can't tell you. I'm standing next to him.”

The call ended. Across the rooftop, Lena stared at the phone as if it had bitten her.

“That's impossible,” she said.

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“Why?”

“Because Mia was the one who gave me the order to drown Nora.”