The sound of gunfire faded, but the ringing in Ava's ears refused to stop.
Ethan's blood soaked into her hands.
His body felt heavier than it should.
"Stay with me," she whispered, pressing her palm against his wound as security surrounded them. "Don't you dare leave me now."
For the first time since she met him, Ethan Blackwood looked fragile.
Not powerful.
Not untouchable.
Just human.
His lips curved slightly. "You're… crying."
"I'm furious," she shot back, but her voice trembled.
Sirens wailed in the distance. Adrian was gone — again — slipping through shadows like a ghost who refused to be buried.
At the hospital, doctors rushed Ethan into surgery. Ava stood outside the operating room for hours, replaying everything.
Adrian's calm expression.
His words.
"I never meant to hurt you."
That was the most terrifying part.
He didn't see himself as a villain.
He saw himself as balance.
A nurse approached carefully. "Miss Vale… the bullet caused severe blood loss. We're doing everything we can."
Ava nodded, but her mind was somewhere else.
Adrian wasn't attacking randomly.
Every move was calculated.
First: destroy Ethan's power.
Second: isolate him publicly.
Third: attack physically.
This wasn't revenge.
This was systematic erasure.
And Ava realized something else.
Adrian had been watching her for months.
Learning her patterns.
Predicting her decisions.
The realization sent ice through her veins.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She hesitated… then answered.
Adrian's voice was calm.
"Is he alive?"
"You shot him."
"No," he corrected softly. "Your loyalty did."
Her hand tightened around the phone.
"If he dies," she whispered, "I will destroy you."
Silence lingered for a few seconds.
Then Adrian replied quietly:
"That's what I'm counting on."
The call ended.
Ava stood in the hospital hallway, staring at the blank screen.
For the first time…
She wasn't afraid.
She was angry.
And anger, she realized, was far more dangerous.