Irina knelt beside Dmitri's lifeless body on the ground, her hands trembling as she pressed against the bleeding wound in his chest. Blood seeped through her fingers as she tried to stop the flow, feeling utterly helpless.
Irina (in a choked voice): "Dmitri! Stay with me! Who did this? Why?"
Dmitri lifted his hand with great effort, grasping her wrist. His eyes locked onto her face, filled with pain, regret, and something resembling an apology.
Dmitri (whispering): "Irina... run... they're coming... trust no one."
Before he could say more, his eyes closed, and his hand fell limp.
Irina (screaming): "Dmitri! No... don't leave me!"
_
Amid the chaos of the city, Irina ran aimlessly, her hands stained with Dmitri's blood. Her heart raced wildly, her mind consumed with questions. Who pulled the trigger? Why had Dmitri warned her?
She reached her apartment, slammed the door shut, and collapsed on the floor, reliving the events in her mind.
Irina (thinking): "He said not to trust anyone... but who? And who are 'they' that he warned me about?"
Rising to her feet, she rummaged through her bag for her phone, but before she could grab it, the sound of footsteps echoed outside her apartment door.
Irina (whispering): "Who's there?"
No one answered. She approached the door cautiously, took a deep breath, and flung it open. But the hallway was empty.
_
As she tried to make sense of everything, memories of her relationship with Dmitri flooded back. Small moments, things he said, enigmatic glances... it all began to take on a new meaning.
She recalled one particular night when he seemed unusually tense, telling her:
Dmitri: "Irina, if anything ever happens to me, I want you to leave this place. Don't search for answers. Just go far away."
But she hadn't taken his words seriously at the time.
_
Determined to find answers, Irina opened Dmitri's bag, which he had left with her before his first disappearance. Inside, she found a small notebook filled with symbols and addresses.
One address stood out: "The old warehouse near the river."
Irina (softly): "What were you hiding, Dmitri?"
_
As she prepared to leave and investigate the address, a text message appeared on her phone. It was from an unknown number:
Message: "Stay away from this, Irina. Curiosity will kill you."
She froze in place, her breath shallow, her mind spinning. Should she continue searching? Or stop?
But something inside her compelled her to reply: "Who are you? What do you want?"
No response came. Yet, an overwhelming sense of danger began to envelop her.