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Chapter 16 – The Cost of Loyalty
The warehouse was colder than Ava remembered.
Its walls were the same—rusted, peeling metal with graffiti scars from years of abandonment—but something about the air felt heavier. Like it knew what was about to happen.
They moved silently, Ava in front, flashlight sweeping every corner. Cami stayed close, her grip on the small dagger tight. Jessy and Elisha flanked the rear, weapons ready.
There were no guards. No sound. No resistance.
That scared Ava more than anything.
"They want us to find something," Elisha muttered, stepping over a fallen beam. "They cleared this path on purpose."
Ava ignored him, her eyes locked ahead. A door—old, dented, barely hanging on its hinges—stood at the end of the hallway.
Behind it, silence.
She reached for the handle.
Jessy stopped her. "Ava, wait—"
But she pushed it open anyway.
The light from her flashlight revealed a small, bare room.
And in the center—
"No," Ava whispered.
Cami gasped behind her, hand flying to her mouth.
Lana was there.
Strung up by her wrists, her body limp, swaying slightly with the breeze from the open vents. Blood dried on her temple. Her face bruised, swollen. Eyes half-open.
Still.
Too still.
Ava dropped to her knees.
"No, no, no," she choked out. "Lana—please. Please."
She reached for her, tried to untie her wrists, but her hands were shaking too much.
Elisha moved beside her, catching her arms.
"Ava. She's gone."
"No," Ava said again, voice breaking. "She was just—she sent me the video—she was just alive—"
"She's not now," Elisha said, softer this time.
Cami stood frozen by the doorway. Jessy backed away, his face pale.
And then Ava saw it—on the floor beneath Lana's dangling feet.
A note.
Written in blood.
> "Let's see how many friends you can bury before you stop looking."
Ava stared at it, her vision blurring.
This wasn't just a murder.
It was a message.
---
Hours Later…
Back at the safehouse, Ava sat in the corner, knees pulled to her chest, hands clenched into fists.
No one spoke.
Lana's body had been taken by someone—by the time they tried to carry her out, the power went out. Smoke flooded the building. When it cleared, her body was gone.
They knew it had been the organization. They were always one step ahead.
"They wanted us to find her," Cami said finally. "They left her there for us."
"For Ava," Jessy corrected quietly.
Ava didn't look at them.
She hadn't said a word since they returned.
Elisha watched her from across the room. "We're not going to win this with rage," he said gently. "You know that, Ava."
"I'm not planning to win," she said, voice low. "I'm planning to burn them."
He blinked. "That's not a strategy."
"It's a promise."
---
Somewhere Else…
In the shadows of a hidden facility, the woman in the black suit watched a screen.
A recording of Ava, crumbling to her knees, sobbing beneath Lana's body.
The woman didn't blink. Didn't flinch.
"She's almost ready," she murmured.
Behind her, a man in a lab coat spoke. "And Chloe?"
The woman turned slowly. "She'll come. But not yet."
She looked back at the screen.
"She thinks she's alone. Let her believe that a little longer."
---
Later That Night
Ava couldn't sleep.
The room felt too quiet. Too empty.
Her phone buzzed.
A text.
From a blocked number.
> "You weren't fast enough. Will you be next?"
She stared at it, jaw tightening.
She didn't respond.
She deleted the message.
Then opened her notes app.
Typed only three words:
> Chloe was right.
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