THE NIGHT THE TRUTH ALMOST BROKE The house felt too quiet that night. It was so still, like the air itself held its breath. No sounds came from the streets outside. No creaks from the old floorboards. Just silence wrapping around everything. Selena sat at the edge of Griffin’s bed. She stared at his sleeping face, watching every small rise and fall of his chest. His breaths were slow and steady, like always. But deep in her chest, a fear grew stronger. The doctor had checked him that morning. He said Griffin’s body was healing well from the wounds. The cuts were closing. The bruises were fading. Yet the poison was different. It did not leave so easily. It stayed hidden inside him. It waited for a weak moment to strike again. Selena could not shake that thought. She reached out and brushed her fingers against his hand. His skin felt warm, but too still. “Come back to me fully,” she whispered softly. Her voice shook just a bit. “I need your eyes to be clear again. I need to hear y

THE SHADOW IN THE DARK The cold air inside the warehouse changed. It felt thick now. Heavy like it breathed. Alive with secrets. Selena pressed close to Elliot. Her breath shook hard. She tried to hide the fear. But it showed in her eyes.“Elliot… someone stayed here,” she whispered. Voice cracked just a bit.He stepped ahead slowly. Flashlight held firm in his grip. The beam cut steadily through the dark. “Yes. Not long ago.”Dust lay kicked up in spots. Old boxes moved roughly. Footprints marked the floor clearly. Fresh ones. Not faded from weeks back. Someone watched. Or waited patiently in shadows.Checking the CornersElliot swung light left. The corner sat empty just cobwebs and rust. No threat hid there. He nodded to Selena. She took the right side carefully near the broken table. Wood cracked where Griffin had planned moves with his dad long ago. Memories hung thick.Then she stopped cold. The body went stiff.“Elliot,” she called. Barely sound. Breath held tight.He spun qui

THE NIGHT SELENA SAW THE TRUTHElliot held the USB drive tight in his hand. It felt like the key to the entire war they were fighting. Selena stood nearby and watched him. She saw the anger building inside him. It was not loud or crazy. It was quiet and very dangerous.He put the USB into his pocket. Then he looked right at her with steady eyes.“We will not stop now,” he said firmly.Selena swallowed. Her throat felt dry. “I know that,” she replied softly.Elliot started to walk toward the warehouse door. But he stopped after a few steps. A feeling told him there was more to find. Maybe something Griffin had left behind. Or perhaps a trick from their enemies.He looked around the big empty space. The walls had rust spots everywhere. Old shelves leaned against them. Broken pieces of metal lay on the floor. Then his eyes stopped on one thing. It was an old locker. Dust covered it thickly. The door was open just a little bit.“Stay right behind me,” Elliot told her in a low voice.Selen

THE MAN BEHIND THE SILENT Elliot didn’t sleep a single second that night. His mind replayed the same troubling scene over and over the unread message flashing briefly on the laptop screen, the one he and Selena missed. The message felt like a trap now too cold, too still, too simple. Something was waiting in the shadows of that silence, hiding in the dark where they hadn’t looked.Beside him, Selena sat curled on the edge of the bed, knees hugged tight to her chest. Her breathing was shallow, body tense as a coiled spring. “Elliot,” she whispered, voice fragile and raw, “what if someone else has that USB stick now?”His jaw tightened, muscles bunching under the skin. “They do,” he said firmly, his voice low and heavy. “And they’re watching us. Waiting for just the right moment.”“For us?” Selena’s question was barely audible, thick with fear.Elliot’s nod was slow, deliberate. “For both of us.”Suddenly, Elliot’s phone buzzed sharply. He snatched it up. No name, no number appeared on

THE MAN BEHIND THE MESSAGEThe room fell silent after the last recording stopped. No one spoke. Elliot’s jaw clenched tight. Selena held her breath. She stared at the laptop screen. It felt alive to her like something evil waiting to attack them.Elliot replayed Griffin’s last words in his mind. They haunted him. “If you are seeing this… someone close to you is not who you think they are.” The words repeated over and over, like a drumbeat in his head.Selena shifted in her chair. Her voice was soft but urgent. “Elliot… Griffin meant someone in this house. Someone right here with us.”Elliot said nothing. He stood frozen, eyes locked on the laptop. His chest felt heavy. He struggled to breathe normally.The USB drive sat on the table in front of them. It was the same one Griffin had hidden before he vanished. Maybe right before someone tried to kill him. The thought made Elliot’s stomach twist.Finally, Elliot spoke. His voice was firm. “We have to watch every single file on this. No s