The drive across the city was silent.
Not the comfortable kind.
The kind where too many thoughts existed between two people, but neither of them knew where to begin.
Luna sat beside Ethan, staring out the window as rain slowly gathered against the glass. The streets were nearly empty, the city lights blurred by the storm. Normally, she would've found it calming.
Tonight, it felt unsettling.
Her mind kept replaying the same thing—
That version of her.
The calm voice.
The cold confidence.
The way Ethan had looked at her when it appeared.
Not shocked.
Not completely.
As if part of him had already expected it.
"You're thinking too loudly," Ethan said suddenly, keeping his eyes on the road.
Luna glanced at him. "That's not possible."
"It is with you."
A faint smile almost appeared on her lips.
Almost.
Then it disappeared again.
"Tell me honestly," she said quietly. "When that happened back there… were you scared of me?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
Rain tapped softly against the windows.
Finally, he spoke.
"…I was worried."
"That's not the same thing."
"No," he admitted. "It's not."
Silence returned.
Luna looked down at her hands. "You hesitated before answering."
"Because I didn't want to lie."
That hurt more than if he had avoided the question entirely.
She leaned back in her seat, staring ahead again. "I don't know what's happening to me."
Ethan's grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel. "Neither do I."
That honesty should've comforted her.
Instead, it made everything feel more real.
The car eventually slowed near an older part of the city, where the buildings looked worn and forgotten by time. Ethan parked across the street from a fenced storage facility. Most of the lights were off except for a dim security lamp near the entrance.
Luna stared at it quietly.
"…This is the place."
Ethan studied her expression. "You remember it?"
"No." She frowned slightly. "But I feel it."
That answer was enough to make the tension rise again.
They stepped out of the car, the cold air instantly wrapping around them. Rain drizzled lightly now, dampening the pavement beneath their feet.
The facility looked abandoned.
Too quiet.
Luna moved closer to the gate slowly, her heartbeat picking up without reason.
Then—
another flash.
A silver key.
The number 317.
Her breath caught.
"…Wait."
Ethan stopped immediately. "What is it?"
"I saw something."
"What?"
"A key," she whispered. "And a number."
His eyes sharpened. "Which number?"
Luna swallowed.
"317."
For a second, Ethan didn't move.
Then he looked toward the rows of storage units inside the facility.
Because unit numbers—
started exactly there.
"You remembered the unit?" he asked.
"I think so."
That alone felt impossible.
But before either of them could process it further—
a voice cut through the rain.
"You really did come."
Luna froze instantly.
Ethan turned sharply.
Adrian stood near the entrance across the lot, one hand in his pocket, completely calm despite the weather. Like he'd been waiting.
Because he probably had.
Ethan stepped slightly in front of Luna automatically. "You're getting predictable."
Adrian gave a faint smile. "And you're getting desperate."
Luna's chest tightened. "How did you know we'd be here?"
Adrian's eyes shifted toward her.
"Because she remembered."
That answer sent unease through her immediately.
He sounded too certain.
Too confident.
Ethan's expression darkened. "Stay away from her."
"But she's the reason we're here," Adrian replied calmly. "Without her, none of this moves forward."
Luna frowned. "What's in unit 317?"
Adrian looked at her for a long moment before answering.
"…Something your father died protecting."
Silence.
The rain suddenly felt colder.
Luna's heartbeat quickened. "Then why didn't you take it already?"
That made Adrian smile slightly.
But there was no humor in it.
"Because," he said quietly, "only you can open it."
Everything stopped.
Luna stared at him. "…What?"
Adrian stepped closer, slow and deliberate.
"Your father changed the lock before he disappeared," he explained. "Biometric access. Voice recognition. He made sure only one person could reach what's inside."
Luna's stomach tightened.
"Me," she whispered.
Adrian nodded once.
Ethan immediately looked toward the storage rows again, his thoughts moving fast now.
Which meant one thing—
whatever was inside that unit was important enough to be protected even after death.
And dangerous enough that people were still hunting it ten years later.
Luna looked between both men, tension rising inside her chest again.
"You both already knew more than you told me."
Neither denied it.
That hurt.
More than she expected.
Her voice hardened slightly. "So what now?"
Ethan answered first. "We open the unit."
Adrian's gaze stayed fixed on Luna. "And once you do… everything changes."
The way he said it—
wasn't a warning.
It sounded inevitable.
Luna felt unease crawl through her again, but this time, beneath the fear—
there was curiosity.
Dangerous curiosity.
Because after all this time…
the truth was finally close enough to touch.
And somehow—
that terrified her more than the lies ever did.