Grace didn't answer Ted right away.
She looked at the masked man instead.
He stood perfectly still, blocking the path with mechanical patience. No anger. No urgency. Just readiness.
A tool, Grace realized. Not a partner.
"You're stalling," Ted said through the speakers. "That won't help him."
Grace lifted her chin.
"You like choices," she said. "So here's one."
She slowly reached into her pocket.
Lauren gasped.
"Grace, don't—"
Grace pulled out her phone.
Ted laughed.
"Signal's dead," he said calmly. "You know that."
"I'm not calling," Grace replied. "I'm recording."
For the first time, there was a pause.
Just a fraction of a second.
Enough.
Grace spoke clearly, projecting her voice into the open space.
"You are holding Mark against his will," she said. "You are threatening his life to force compliance. This conversation is evidence."
The speakers crackled.
Ted's voice returned, smooth but sharper.
"You think words scare me?"
"No," Grace said. "But timing does."
Outside, faint but growing, sirens cut through the night.
Ted clicked his tongue.
"They're late," he said. "And you're still here."
Grace didn't move.
"You taught me something," she continued. "Control only works if people believe you're untouchable."
The masked man shifted his weight.
Just slightly.
Grace saw it.
Ted heard it.
"Don't," Ted said sharply.
The word wasn't meant for Grace.
"You built this whole thing on distance," Grace went on. "On systems. On other people."
Silence.
Then Ted laughed again—but it wasn't amused this time.
"You always did talk too much."
The lights above flickered.
Then went out.
Darkness swallowed the warehouse.
Lauren screamed.
Grace felt a hand grab her arm—but it wasn't violent. It was hurried. Uncertain.
The masked man pulled her forward, toward the shadows.
"Move," he said.
The first word he had spoken.
Behind them, something crashed.
Metal.
Shouting.
Flashlights cut through the dark.
"Police! Get down!"
Chaos erupted.
Grace stumbled free as hands grabbed the masked man.
He fought—not wildly, but efficiently.
Then smoke filled the air.
Not fire.
Signal smoke.
Vision collapsed into gray.
Grace dropped to her knees, coughing, Lauren clinging to her.
Through the haze, Grace heard Ted's voice one last time.
Calm again.
Controlled.
"This isn't the end," he said. "This is proof."
Then the speakers went dead.
As officers rushed past them toward the upper level, Grace looked up.
At the catwalk.
At the place where Mark had been.
It was empty.
Lauren sobbed.
Grace closed her eyes.
Ted had lost a piece of control tonight.
But he had taken something with him.
And Grace knew—
Whatever came next would be worse.