The night had swallowed them whole, the city's chaos now a distant murmur, drowned out by the heavy silence that hung between them. Ada sat against the cold, graffiti-covered wall, her hands still trembling, her breath shallow and uneven. The weight of what had just happened—the close call with the men on the bridge—pressed down on her chest.
Daniel, pacing in front of her, was lost in thought, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to figure out their next move. Every once in a while, his eyes would dart to her, but there was no warmth in them anymore. Only the sharp edge of someone who had seen too much and had no choice but to keep moving forward.
"Ada, listen," he said, his voice urgent. "We can't stay here for long. They'll be looking for us, and we need to get to the safe house. It's our only chance."
Ada didn't respond immediately. She was still processing everything—what Daniel had just revealed about his past, about his involvement with dangerous people, and the fact that she was now caught in the middle of it all. Her mind kept racing back to the moments they'd shared before, the days of innocence when Daniel had been her best friend, the boy she had laughed with, the one she had trusted without question.
But that boy was gone. Replaced by someone she didn't recognize.
"I don't understand," Ada said, her voice barely a whisper. "How could you have been a part of all of this? I knew you, Daniel. I knew you. How could you have kept this from me?"
Daniel stopped pacing and turned to face her. His eyes were hard, guarded. "I didn't want you to get involved in this, Ada. I thought I could keep you safe. But I was wrong. They're after you, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."
Her heart clenched. "Why? Why are they after me? I don't even know these people."
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his face. "Because you were never supposed to forget. But you did. And now they think you know something—something that could destroy everything they've worked for."
Ada stood up, her legs unsteady beneath her. "What is it, Daniel? What do I know?"
Daniel's eyes flickered with guilt, but he remained silent, his lips pressed into a thin line. Ada's chest tightened, the silence between them thick with the weight of unspoken truths.
"You don't have to protect me anymore," Ada said, her voice rising slightly, the frustration building. "I deserve to know the truth. You owe me that much."
For a moment, Daniel just stood there, his gaze locked on hers. Then, slowly, he took a step forward, lowering his voice. "You're right. You deserve the truth."
He paused, his eyes distant, as if he were searching for the right words, before he spoke again. "When we were younger, there were things I wasn't aware of. My family… we were involved with people who ran illegal operations. They were dangerous. But they kept it all hidden. Even from me. I didn't know about it until I was older, until I started seeing things that didn't make sense."
Ada's breath caught in her throat. "And me? How do I fit into all of this?"
Daniel looked at her with a mix of pain and regret. "You were part of something bigger than both of us, Ada. Your father… he worked with them. He had knowledge of something—something that could have changed everything for them. But he disappeared before he could share it. You were too young to remember, but they never forgot. They think you know something—some key that could unlock everything."
Ada took a step back, the shock of his words hitting her like a punch to the gut. "My father… He was involved in this?"
Daniel nodded, his expression grim. "He was. And now, they think you have the key. The thing your father knew—something hidden in plain sight. They've been looking for it ever since he vanished. And they'll do whatever it takes to get it."
The air around them felt thick with tension, the weight of the revelation suffocating. Ada's mind reeled as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Her father, the man she had thought of as a simple businessman, had been involved in something much darker. And now, because of his secrets, she was in the crosshairs.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Ada asked, her voice shaking with a mixture of anger and hurt.
"I didn't want you to get caught in this," Daniel said quietly. "I never wanted you to know. But now… now it's too late. They're coming for you, Ada. And we have no choice but to keep running until we figure this out."
Ada closed her eyes, the weight of the truth pressing down on her like a physical force. She had thought she was safe, that her past was behind her. But now, everything had changed. Her father's disappearance, the strange gaps in her memories, they were all connected to something far more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.
A voice broke through the silence, the sound of a distant engine growing louder. Daniel's eyes flicked toward the sound, and without another word, he grabbed her hand, pulling her back into the shadows of the alley.
"They found us," he muttered, his tone urgent.
Ada's pulse quickened as she followed him, the adrenaline kicking in. She didn't know who they were, but she knew they were closing in. She couldn't go back to her old life—whatever normalcy she had once known had been shattered, leaving only fear and uncertainty in its place.
As they ran, Ada's thoughts swirled. She couldn't trust anyone—not even Daniel, not completely. He had kept secrets from her, and the more she learned, the less she understood. But one thing was clear: she had to keep moving, keep fighting, or she would lose everything.
And the truth, no matter how dark, would be the only thing that could save her now.