The key turned in the lock, and Evelyn felt every muscle in her body tighten as Lucas raised the gun, his eyes fixed on the bedroom door while the person outside slowly pushed against it, but the lock held... for now...

"Lucas," Evelyn whispered, her voice barely audible, "what are we going to do?"

He glanced at her, then towards the window. "There's a fire escape."

Her eyes widened. "You want us to climb out of the window?"

"I want you alive." Lucas blurted without thinking.

The handle moved again, harder this time, and the door shuddered in its frame.

Lucas grabbed Evelyn's hand and pulled her towards the window, but before he could open it, the bedroom door suddenly burst inward.

Evelyn screamed, Lucas raised the gun, but the room was empty.

The door had been forced open from the outside, yet nobody stood in the doorway.

Then Lucas noticed the envelope lying on the floor. The moment he saw it, he went completely still.

Evelyn stared at it. "What is that?"

"Don't touch it." He stepped forward cautiously and picked it up with his free hand.

There was no name on the front, only the same silver emblem Evelyn had seen on Adrian's black card.

Lucas opened it, and a single photograph slid onto the floor. Evelyn bent down before he could stop her, instantly, her breath caught. It was a photograph of her!

It wasn't a recent photograph, but one taken years ago. She was perhaps six years old, standing beside a woman she didn't recognise.... probably her birth mother, the resemblance was striking.

Evelyn's fingers trembled as she picked it up. "I've never seen this."

Lucas stared at the photograph. "Neither have I."

"There are no photographs of me from when I was this young." She continued, not paying much attention to what Lucas just said.

"I know." Lucas said again.

She looked at him sharply. "How do you know?"

Lucas didn't answer, and because of his silence, Evelyn's suspicion hardened. "Lucas, what aren't you telling me?"

Before he could respond, something slid beneath the bedroom door. It was another photograph.

Lucas looked down, and this time, his face went pale.

Evelyn picked it up. This one showed the same little girl standing beside a black car, while a tall man stood in the background. The man's face had been deliberately scratched away.

On the back, someone had written a single sentence:

SHE REMEMBERS NOTHING.

Evelyn's heart began pounding. "What does that mean?"

Lucas stared at her. "I don't know."

"You do know." Evelyn fired at him through clenched teeth.

"I swear I don't." Lucas defended himself.

Another sound came from the living room, and this time, it was the sound of footsteps. Someone was inside the apartment.

Lucas grabbed Evelyn's wrist. "We're leaving."

"Through the window?"

"Yes."

He opened it, but before Evelyn could climb through, his phone vibrated. When he looked at the screen, there was only one message, and that was enough to make his expression change.

"What?" A confused Evelyn asked.

He handed her the phone to let her see for herself. The message contained only six words:

SHE HAS ALREADY BEEN FOUND.

Evelyn looked up. "Who sent this?"

Lucas didn't answer, because somewhere downstairs, a car engine roared to life, then another.

Lucas looked through the window and his face became grim.

Three black SUVs were parked outside the building, and one of them had a familiar silver emblem on its door. The same emblem from Adrian Moretti's card.

Evelyn stared at the vehicles. "Is Adrian here?"

Lucas shook his head. "No."

"Then who are they?"

Lucas looked at her with an expression she had never seen before. "People who don't want you to meet him."

A loud bang came from the apartment door, then another bang, and the front door began to crack.

Lucas grabbed Evelyn's hand. "Run!" He shouted in a low tone.

This time, she didn't argue.