The sound of Nathan's name echoed inside Lilith's head like a siren she couldn't silence. Every inch of her body ached with memories she wasn't ready to own memories that refused to stay buried now that the truth had clawed its way free.
Francisca leaned in. "Lilith… talk to us. Who's Nathan?"
Lilith stared at the note again, her fingers trembling. "He was… my brother."
Emanuel's brows drew together. "You never told me you had a brother."
"I don't," she whispered, voice cracking. "At least not anymore."
Francisca and Emanuel exchanged a look. Lilith could see the questions rising, the fear building in their eyes. But this wasn't about their fear. This was about hers.
"I buried him in my mind," she said, staring out of the train's dusty window. "After the fire… after what happened in that house…"
She couldn't finish. Her throat closed around the words like a trap.
Emanuel's voice was low. "Did he die?"
"No." Her answer was cold and certain. "He changed. He became someone else… something else. I think I saw him that night on the rooftop. He's alive."
Francisca's voice was barely a whisper. "Then… he's the stranger?"
Lilith turned toward her. "He's the writer. He's been leaving me the notes."
Emanuel stood suddenly, pacing. "Then why not just talk to you? Why the games? Why the threats?"
Lilith shook her head. "Because he's angry. And I think he blames me for what happened back then."
The lights on the train flickered again, but this time, the air shifted. The silence wasn't empty it was charged.
The intercom cracked, squealed, and then a voice came through.
But it wasn't the conductor.
It wasn't a stranger.
It was him.
"Lilith… you finally remember. Good. Then let's finish this where it all began."
"Come alone."
The message ended.
The train doors opened to a dark, abandoned station that hadn't been in use for years. No signs. No guards. Just shadows.
Lilith stood slowly, heart pounding.
"I have to go."
Emanuel reached for her. "Lilith, you're not doing this alone."
But Lilith was already stepping off the train.
"I need to face him. If I don't… this won't end."
She turned back once, looking at Francisca and Emanuel the only two constants in the chaos that had become her life.
"Wait for me," she said, voice trembling but sure. "No matter what happens in there… wait."
Then she disappeared into the dark tunnel, her shadow swallowed by the silence