Chapter 4 — The Choice

play the audio. I didn't call Adrian that night. I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But every time I reached for my phone, I remembered his last words. The harder it becomes for me to protect you from myself. So I did the only thing that made sense. I searched for Mara. 2019. That was all I had. Her name. A year. And a photograph. It took less than an hour to find something. A news article. LOCAL WOMAN MISSING AFTER ATTEMPTING TO EXPOSE BUSINESSMAN. My heart stopped. I opened it. Mara Bennett, 24, was reported missing on October 17, 2019. Below her name was a photograph. The same woman. My hands went cold. I kept reading. She had reportedly been investigating a company owned by a man whose name had been removed from the article. But one sentence caught my attention. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that Bennett left voluntarily. I stared at the screen. She chose the truth. My phone buzzed. Unknown number. Stop looking for Mara. I froze. Another message appeared. You don't want to end up where she did. I immediately blocked the number. Then my phone rang. Adrian. I stared at his name. I shouldn't answer. I knew that. But I did. “Where are you?” His voice was different. Not calm. Not controlled. Scared. “At home.” “Lock the doors.” My stomach dropped. “Why?” “Just do it, Mara.” I went silent. He exhaled sharply. “I'm coming over.” “Adrian—” “Don't leave the house.” The call ended. I locked the door. Then the windows. Then I stood in the middle of my living room, staring at my phone. Because there was only one thing I couldn't stop thinking about. The stranger had said: Ask him about Mara. Now someone else was telling me to stop. And Adrian was terrified. Ten minutes later, headlights appeared outside. A car stopped. Adrian stepped out. He didn't bring flowers this time. He came inside and immediately checked every window. Every door. Every room. “What's happening?” He ignored the question. “Did anyone come here?” “No.” “Did you receive any messages?” I hesitated. His eyes narrowed. “Mara.” I showed him my phone. He read the message. His face went completely still. “Who sent this?” “I don't know.” He looked at me. Then at the screen. Then back at me. “Did you search for her?” I said nothing. His jaw tightened. “You searched for Mara.” “Yes.” He closed his eyes. For a moment, he looked exhausted. Not dangerous. Just tired. “Why?” “Because you wouldn't tell me.” He looked at me for several seconds. Then he whispered, “I was trying to give you a choice.” “What choice?” His eyes met mine. “The one Mara never got.” My heart sank. “What are you talking about?” He reached into his pocket. This time, it wasn't a photograph. It was a folded piece of paper. He handed it to me. I opened it. Three names were written on it. One was crossed out. One had a question mark beside it. And the last one was mine. MARA — DEAD ADRIAN — UNKNOWN MARA'S NEXT — YOU I looked up. “Who wrote this?” Adrian's voice was barely audible. “The people who are looking for you.” And suddenly, I understood. Mara hadn't disappeared because she chose the truth. She disappeared because someone wanted her silenced. And now… they knew my name.

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