Alyssa’s POV
The air was heavy as I pushed through the apartment door, my pulse thundering in my ears. “Ethan?” I called out, scanning the dimly lit space. Silence greeted me like a slap to the face.
The room was eerily still, every shadow stretching too long, every corner feeling like it was closing in on me. My hand instinctively went to my sidearm as I moved further inside.
“Ethan, this isn’t funny!” My voice cracked, a tremor of fear lacing my words.
I made my way to the living room, where a shattered coffee mug lay on the floor, its dark contents spreading across the hardwood like blood. The knot in my stomach tightened.
Behind me, the door creaked open, and I spun, gun drawn, to find Isabella standing there, her face grim. “He’s gone, isn’t he?”
I nodded, my throat tightening. “How do you know?”
She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “Because this is how they work. The Obsidian Circle doesn’t just knock-they come in like ghosts, take what they want, and leave you scrambling in their wake.”
I glared at her, my hand shaking slightly as I lowered the gun. “If you knew this, why didn’t you warn me?”
Isabella’s lips pressed into a thin line. “You think I haven’t been warning you? From the moment Xavier said that name, I told you this wasn’t a fight you wanted to pick.”
I ran a hand through my hair, pacing the length of the room. “What do they want with Ethan? He’s not a player in this.”
“Not directly,” she admitted. “But you are. And they know taking him will make you pliable.”
My head snapped up, anger bubbling in my chest. “I’m not some pawn they can control. If they think this will break me-”
“They don’t need to break you,” Isabella interrupted, her tone icy. “They just need to bend you enough to do what they want.”
I stopped pacing, my fists clenched. “Do you know where they’d take him?”
Isabella sighed. “No, but I know how they operate. They won’t keep him far-too many moving pieces. They’ll want him close enough to use as leverage but far enough that you can’t reach him without help.”
I hated the cold logic of her words, but she was right. The Circle didn’t make mistakes. They were calculated, ruthless.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I fumbled to grab it, my heart leaping in my chest. A blocked number.
“Alyssa,” Isabella warned as I answered.
“Hello?” I said, my voice sharp, demanding.
The line crackled for a moment before a distorted voice spoke. “Good evening, Ms. Morgan. I trust you’ve noticed your friend is missing.”
My grip tightened on the phone. “Where is he?”
The voice chuckled, the sound sending a chill down my spine. “Safe. For now. But his safety depends entirely on you.”
Isabella moved closer, her expression dark. “Put it on speaker,” she mouthed.
I pressed the button, the voice now filling the room.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
“Simple. Obey our instructions, and Mr. Harris remains alive. Refuse, and you’ll find what’s left of him delivered to your doorstep.”
I swallowed hard, fighting the panic threatening to overwhelm me. “Instructions for what?”
“All in due time,” the voice said smoothly. “For now, consider this a courtesy call. A countdown, if you will.”
My blood turned to ice. “Countdown to what?”
“Forty-eight hours,” the voice said, each word deliberate. “That’s how long you have to cooperate before we stop playing nice.”
“And if I don’t?”
The voice laughed, a low, chilling sound. “Then you’ll be burying another loved one, Ms. Morgan. Tick-tock.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone, the silence pressing down on me like a weight. Isabella broke it first. “Forty-eight hours. That’s not much time.”
“No kidding,” I snapped, throwing the phone onto the couch. “We need to find him before they can-”
“You don’t even know where to start,” she interrupted. “And running headfirst into their trap won’t help him. Or you.”
I rounded on her, my frustration boiling over. “So what, we sit here and wait for their next move?”
“No,” she said, her tone calm but firm. “We think. We plan. If you want to fight the Obsidian Circle, you need to outsmart them.”
I collapsed onto the couch, my head in my hands. “This isn’t a chess game, Isabella. This is Ethan’s life.”
“And if you let your emotions drive you, you’ll lose him,” she shot back. “You’re smart, Alyssa. Use that brain of yours.”
Her words stung, but they were true. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. “Fine. Where do we start?”
Isabella pulled out her laptop, placing it on the coffee table. “The Circle operates in shadows, but shadows leave traces if you know where to look. Let’s see what we can dig up.”
As she started typing, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message.
I opened it, my heart sinking as a video played. Ethan was tied to a chair, blood running down his face. His eyes met the camera, defiant even in his pain.
A voice offscreen spoke. “Forty-eight hours, Ms. Morgan. Choose wisely.”
The screen went black, and I fought the bile rising in my throat. Isabella glanced at me. “What is it?”
I showed her the video, and her face darkened. “They’re escalating.”
“They’re taunting me,” I said, my voice shaking with anger.
“Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe they’re testing you, seeing how far you’ll go.”
I clenched my fists, a cold determination settling over me. “Then let’s show them how far I’m willing to go.”
Isabella nodded, her fingers flying across the keyboard. “We’ll start with the video. Every file has metadata, even encrypted ones. If there’s a clue, I’ll find it.”
As she worked, I stared out the window, my mind racing. Ethan’s life was in my hands, and the clock was ticking.
I didn’t know if I could win this game, but I knew one thing for certain:
I wasn’t going down without a fight.
Just as Isabella made a breakthrough, her screen lit up with an unfamiliar symbol-a black circle surrounded by jagged lines.
She froze, her face pale. “They know we’re looking.”
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed again. Another message:
“You’ve been warned. Stop now, or the countdown ends early.”