The emergency red lights continued flickering across the dark hallway while cold silence filled the entire tower.
At the end of the corridor, the mysterious figure stood motionless beneath the crimson glow.
Like a shadow pulled directly from the past.
"Welcome back, Lila Noir."
The voice echoed slowly through the hallway.
Cold.
Calm.
Unfamiliar—
Yet strangely familiar at the same time.
Lila felt her heartbeat growing heavier with every second.
Because deep inside—
She knew she had seen this man before.
Not clearly.
Not completely.
But enough to awaken memories she wanted to forget.
The fire.
The smoke.
The screaming.
And someone standing beside her father while everything burned.
Lila slowly stepped forward.
"…Who are you?"
The man tilted his head slightly before smiling faintly.
"Interesting."
"You truly look like your father."
Ryan immediately moved closer toward Lila.
"Lila, don't go near him."
But she couldn't stop now.
Too many questions were crashing inside her mind.
Who was this man?
Why did Adrian know him?
And why did it feel like he had been watching them for years?
Suddenly—
Adrian stepped in front of Lila.
"Enough."
His voice turned colder instantly.
The mysterious man laughed quietly.
"…Still protecting them?"
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"I warned you to stay away from them."
"And you really believed I would listen?" the man replied calmly.
Then suddenly—
The hallway doors opened.
Several men dressed in black slowly walked out from the shadows surrounding the corridor.
Maya immediately stepped backward nervously.
"…Okay, I officially hate this building."
Ethan looked around in disbelief.
"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DRAMATIC PEOPLE HERE?!"
Even Ryan looked exhausted hearing that sentence.
"This is not the time, Ethan."
"It is ALWAYS the time," Ethan whispered back nervously.
Meanwhile, Lila noticed something strange.
Adrian moved slightly closer toward them.
Almost protectively.
The mysterious man noticed it too.
His smile slowly faded.
"You still haven't changed."
Adrian didn't answer.
One of the men suddenly rushed toward Ryan, forcing everyone to move at once.
The hallway instantly became chaotic.
Lila reacted quickly, pushing Maya safely behind her while Ryan blocked another attacker near the wall.
Ethan panicked immediately.
"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?! I JUST WANTED A NORMAL FRIEND GROUP!"
Despite the tension, Maya almost laughed.
Almost.
Meanwhile—
Adrian stepped forward calmly.
Too calmly.
Like someone who had seen this situation many times before.
One man tried grabbing Lila from behind—
But Adrian immediately pulled him away before he could even touch her.
Everything about him felt controlled.
Precise.
Careful.
And that confused Lila more than anything else.
Because this wasn't how villains were supposed to act.
Another man moved toward Maya, but Ryan quickly stopped him before guiding Maya farther away from the danger.
"Stay close to me," Ryan said quietly.
Maya nodded immediately.
Meanwhile Ethan somehow managed to survive entirely through panic.
At one point he accidentally pushed a rolling chair into someone and stared in shock afterward.
"…Did I just help?"
"You did," Ryan answered quickly.
"…I'm terrified."
Even Lila almost smiled for half a second.
But her attention immediately returned to Adrian.
Because she noticed something strange again.
He wasn't trying to hurt anyone unnecessarily.
He was only stopping them.
Protecting them.
Protecting her.
Then suddenly—
Adrian looked directly at Lila while helping her avoid another attack.
And quietly said—
"You fight exactly like your mother."
Lila froze instantly.
Her mother.
Nobody had mentioned her mother in years.
The words hit harder than anything else that night.
And somehow—
The way Adrian said it sounded painful.
Almost emotional.
Lila stared at him in confusion.
"How do you—"
Before she could finish—
The mysterious man laughed again.
A cold laugh that echoed through the hallway.
"…How pathetic."
Everyone slowly turned toward him.
"Still trying to protect a family you already destroyed."
Silence filled the tower instantly.
Lila looked toward Adrian.
And for the first time—
She saw guilt inside his eyes.
Real guilt.
Not anger.
Not manipulation.
Pain.
The mysterious man slowly stepped closer beneath the flashing red lights.
Then quietly spoke again.
"…Tell them the truth, Adrian."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The man's smile slowly returned.
"…Tell them who really started the fire."
And this time—
Even Adrian couldn't answer immediately.