Chapter 4
Night cloaked the hospital in an eerie stillness.
The corridors were lined with armed officers posted every five meters.
Rebecca’s room was a veritable stronghold, guarded by a phalanx of police. No one could slip past unnoticed.
Franco stood sentinel at the door, his hawk–like gaze sweeping the surroundings with relentless vigilance.
Adelina had been assigned to rest in the room next door. She was calm–unnervingly so.
She sat by the window, her eyes fixed on the pale glow of the moon outside, motionless as a marble statue.
“Aren’t you worried?” Franco’s voice cut through the silence as he pushed open the door.
“Worried about what?” Adelina didn’t turn, her tone as steady as the moonlight.
“That you might be wrong.‘
“I’m never wrong.”
Her words were soft but carried the unshakable confidence of someone who knew their craft inside out.
Franco studied her silhouette, his throat tightening.
This was the Adelina he remembered–radiant, unyielding. Despite the prison garb, her pride burned as fiercely as ev-
- er.
“Adelina,” he began, his voice rough with the weight of unspoken words, “three years ago…..”
“Don’t.” She cut him off sharply, a crack of emotion breaking through her icy facade.
“Franco, the only thing between us now is this case.”
Her words sliced through him, reigniting the familiar ache in his chest.
He wanted to explain, to tell her there had been more to the past, that things weren’t as they seemed.
But the words caught in his throat and died there.
It was too late. The damage was done.
Suddenly, a blood–curdling scream shattered the night.
It was Rebecca.
Franco’s face twisted with alarm. He kicked the door open and charged out.
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09:09
Chapter 4
“What happened?” he roared.
The officers at the door exchanged bewildered glances. “Captain Alvarez, we’ve been here the whole time. No one’s
gone
in!”
Franco barreled into Rebecca’s room, his heart pounding. The sight before him stopped him cold.
The room was empty. The window gaped wide, its white curtains whipping wildly in the night air like taunting ghosts.
On the bed lay a single, chilling detail–a black rose, drawn in blood.
It was identical to the signature left at every murder scene three years ago.
Rebecca had vanished right under their noses.
“Lock down the hospital! Scour the city!” Franco bellowed, his voice raw with fury.
Adelina stepped into the room, her eyes locking onto the blood rose. Her expression was heavier than ever, a storm brewing in her gaze.
“It’s too late,” she murmured.
“Too late for what?” Franco shouted.
“He’s already… completed his ‘masterpiece.“”
Adelina drifted to the window, her gaze piercing the darkness to settle on an abandoned, half–finished building across the street.
“He’s there.
“He knew you’d pour all your resources into guarding this place, so he chose the most dangerous spot.
“He counted on your confidence creating a blind spot.”
Franco followed her line of sight, his face darkening to a steely ashen.
He snatched up his radio.
“All units, move to the derelict building across the street! Now!”
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09:10
Chapter 5
