As I slowly gained consciousness, my eyelids felt heavy. My lungs burned as if I had been underwater too long. My hands shot to my side. Pain. Sharp, persistent. My eyes fluttered open.
I was on the floor of a room.
It was somewhere unfamiliar. Walls low and concrete, cold and damp. The faint smell of oil, something metallic, mingling with the stale air. My pulse raced. My breath came shallow.
A memory surfaced, sudden and sharp:
A text.
"Meet me at the park tonight. My driver will bring you."
Ordinary words. Calm. Polite. But I remembered the undertone. The way it had sounded wrong after our last conversation, that almost-imperceptible tension in his calm voice. Foolish me. I had trusted him. Smiled anyway.
I had walked into it willingly.
How long ago was it? Minutes ago or hours? I couldn't tell. And yet, it was here, an unyielding reminder that what had happened was real. That I had died.
I remembered stepping into the car. The driver silent, professional. My heart pounding with anticipation and something else—hope, love, excitement. I arrived at the park, dressed warmly against the winter chill. I had not noticed the small, almost imperceptible flicker in Adrian's eyes when I smiled. Not then. Not when he blindfolded me, murmuring, "Trust me."
And now, here I was. Eyes open, heart hammering, mind spinning.
I flinched at a noise. Footsteps. Heavy. Measured. The air shifted. I felt someone's presence. Close. Too close. My breath hitched.
I had no idea where I was. Nothing looked familiar. The shadows seemed to press in. Concrete walls, dim lighting, an echo of dripping water. Panic clawed at me. I wanted to run, scream, fight—but every nerve felt dulled, every movement sluggish.
Adrian's voice came, "Yoire awake. Let's begin!"
A tremor ran through me. My mind screamed: Where am I? How did I get here? Why?
Everything led up to this. That text. That trust. That decision to follow him. I had opened my heart to him, and he had used it against me.
I gazed into the face of the man I once loved—Adrian. Hatred burned in his eyes, twisting every memory of warmth into something vile. Every smile we had shared, every gentle word, every touch—it all warped into a memory soaked with venom. I knew one thing… this would be the last face I'd ever see.
A movement to my right jerked my head. Heels. The same color and design as my favorite pair. And then… a familiar laugh. My younger sister. My blood ran cold. Shock hit me like a punch to the chest. Betrayal—sharp, scorching—tore through me harder than the pain from the knife in my side. Her grin… pure, cruel glee… I wanted to scream, claw, vanish into nothing. But my body refused.
"Well, well, sister dearest… lying here, dying slowly. I'm part of the reason why," she taunted.
I tried to speak. Tried to whisper her name. "Selina…" My throat burned. My lips trembled. Sound barely formed.
"Yes, sweet Sabrina. My face will be the last you ever see. I'll cherish this moment forever."
Her words were knives. Childhood memories shattered, every secret shared, every laugh, every moment of trust… gone in a heartbeat. Why? How could she hate me like this? Had it been simmering all along behind that fake smile? My mind raced. Couldn't focus. Couldn't breathe. Only the sting of betrayal, the metallic taste of blood, and the dull throb of the knife wound filling me.
A man screamed, panic in his voice: "Sabrina! Don't hurt her! Take me instead!"
"Oh, the hero," she mocked. "Too bad you can't do anything."
"Can you just shut him up already?" Adrian snapped. A sudden sound, sharp and loud, followed by a cry of pain, made my ears throb. My vision blurred. My body shook violently.
Adrian bent to my level, his hand tightening on my arm like iron. His eyes flicked toward the shadows beyond my sight. Cold, sharp, unrelenting: "Should I make it more painful, or leave her to bleed out?"
I wanted to scream. Wanted to fight. Wanted… I didn't know what. All I could do was feel. Pain. Fear. Betrayal. Every heartbeat hammered weak and slow, threatening to stop. I remembered a time long ago, Adrian's kiss under the moonlight, his whispered promises that he would never hurt me. Lies. Every one of them.
Blood filled my mouth, ears, vision. Then, a voice - loud, clear, impossible - cut through the chaos. "Make it hurt." I knew it. Safe. Familiar. But useless. My body refused. My mind refused.
The shadows stretched, swallowing everything. My heartbeat faltered. I tried to cry out, tried to move, tried to fight… but it was too late. Adrian's grin widened. Her laughter rang in my fading mind. The pain, the betrayal, the fear, they merged into one final, suffocating wave.
But the face in the shadows, the hand that tightened on my arm, the cold amusement in his tone… this was not the end.
Somewhere deep, a spark ignited—a knowledge that this, all of this, would not be the last chapter. Something was coming. Something that would change everything.
And in that spark, a single thought crystallized: I would not die quietly. Not ever again.
And then… nothing.
The world went silent. I fell into nothingness. There was no pain, no hurt, no betrayal. It was finally over. I was free.