The city bled neon light as Jayden and the others vanished into its underbelly.
Every alley reeked of old rain, fried food, and broken promises.
Jayden's hoodie stuck to his skin, soaked through.
His shoulder wound reopened, dripping scarlet into the darkness — but he pressed forward.
He wasn't running anymore.
He was hunting.
---
In an abandoned subway station, they found it:
A scrap of paper wedged into the ribs of a rusted-out vending machine.
One look at the handwriting and Jayden's knees almost gave out.
It was her.
Matilda.
The girl who had once held his heart so tightly he thought he'd never breathe without her.
The girl he'd left behind to save.
The note was simple:
> "Come to the old theater. Midnight. Come alone."
Jeff snatched the paper, shaking his head. "It's a trap."
Wendy grabbed Jayden's arm. "They know how to hurt you. They're using her."
Jayden just smiled bitterly.
"I'm going," he said. "Even if it kills me."
---
The old theater was a skeleton of its former self.
Marble floors cracked. Velvet seats rotted. Chandeliers dangled like dead flowers.
Jayden stepped inside.
The stage was lit only by a single dying spotlight.
And there she was.
Matilda.
Older now.
Sharper around the edges.
Her once innocent eyes now held shadows deep enough to drown in.
She wore a simple black dress — the kind that whispered of funerals and farewells.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The only sound was the hum of ghosts past.
---
"Why Did You Leave?"
She stepped down from the stage, heels clicking like gunshots.
"You left me," she said, voice trembling with a thousand unshed tears.
Jayden opened his mouth — but the words died before they could form.
What could he say?
That he'd abandoned her because staying meant death?
That he loved her too much to watch her bleed?
Matilda slapped him across the face.
Hard.
"You let them take me," she whispered, tears streaking her makeup.
Jayden's head bowed under the weight of guilt heavier than chains.
"I thought I was protecting you," he said hoarsely.
Matilda laughed — a broken sound that didn't reach her eyes.
"You didn't save me, Jayden. You turned me into them."
---
Suddenly, she lunged.
Not into his arms —
But with a blade, aimed straight for his heart.
Jayden caught her wrist just in time, twisting it gently, feeling her body tremble against his.
"Matilda…" he breathed.
Tears streamed down her face as she dropped the knife.
"I hate you," she sobbed.
"I love you."
"I wish I'd never met you."
Jayden crushed her to his chest, burying his face in her rain-soaked hair.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, again and again.
But apologies don't stitch broken wings.
Some things, once shattered, never heal.
---
From the balcony above, unseen, Aiden watched the reunion, his lips curled into a smile.
He whispered into his earpiece:
> "He's weakened. The girl did her part. Phase Two begins tonight."
Outside, a dozen black cars idled, engines humming like beasts waiting to pounce.
The real storm hadn't even begun.
---
As Jayden and Matilda stood together under the spotlight, both broken, both longing for a past that no longer existed, they didn't see the shadows moving around them.
They didn't hear the safeties clicking off guns.
Didn't sense the betrayal wrapping tighter around their throats.
The curtains would fall soon.
But not on a happy ending.
No, this was a tragedy.
And Jayden was about to lose far more than he ever imagined.
---