"What?!" Dylan's voice cracked with disbelief. His eyes locked onto Adrein. "What are you saying?"
Lai tensed beside him, her arms tightening around his. She leaned closer to Dylan, her body trembling. He could feel her fear. Or was it guilt?
"I'm asking you something, Lai," Adrein said, his voice low but threatening. "Just tell me where Ember is. Don't make me lose my patience—I'm still holding back."
Dylan stepped in front of her protectively. "Why the hell are you asking her that?" he demanded, brows furrowed.
Lai's voice wavered as she stammered, "Brother, I don't know... I don't know who she is."
But something in her tone... something in her eyes—Dylan knew she was hiding something.
Adrein took a step forward, his expression twisted with betrayal. "So, you're really not going to give up, are you? Lai—no..." His tone grew sharper. "Should I call you Leora now?"
Dylan froze.
"Leora?" he whispered, eyes darting to the girl clinging to him.
"Brother—" Lai's voice cracked.
Adrein cut her off, fury rising in his voice. "Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me your brother the moment you chose lies over family. Now, for the last time—where is Ember? I'm still asking nicely."
"Adrein, just tell me… why are you calling her Leora? Isn't her name Lai Zhen?" Dylan asked, confusion thick in his voice as his eyes flickered between the two siblings.
Adrein let out a breath, locking eyes with him. "You know my mother always loved Country C and its culture. She named her Lai Zhen because of that. But when we moved back to Lumière, she changed her name to Leora. That's her real name now. Does it make sense to you now?"
Dylan's mind reeled. Leora… The same name from the fan girl —the girl who was last seen with Ember. His gaze shifted to the girl beside him.
"So you are Leora," he said quietly, a sharp edge creeping into his voice. "Why hide it until now? Just tell us where Ember is. If you speak now, we won't do anything to you."
Leora stepped back slightly, eyes wide, her voice trembling. "I-I don't know what either of you are talking about. My name is Leora, yes… but I don't know who Ember is."
Adrein's face darkened. "Then what were you doing at Emir's birthday party? Don't lie—I saw you there. And I know you came here after seeing the news... about Dylan having a girl he likes. So stop playing innocent. Just tell us the truth."
Before she could respond, Dylan's phone buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled it out, quickly checking the screen.
A message from his father.
"The car was spotted heading to the outskirts of the city. We're tracking it now."
Dylan's breath hitched.
He immediately checked the tracker linked to Ember's ring—still showing right here, in this apartment.
His eyes narrowed as he slowly looked back at Leora.
The signal was right where she stood.
He glanced at her hands—no ring. Bare fingers.
Then how?
His mind raced. If the ring wasn't on her finger… where was it?
Hidden?
Stolen?
Or planted?
Dylan stepped closer, his voice low, dangerous, and laced with emotion. "If you're hiding something, Leora... now is the time to speak. Because if Ember is hurt—" he paused, eyes blazing, "—I swear, I'll tear this place apart until I find her."
Leora's lips parted, but no words came.
And Dylan knew.
She was lying.
Dylan's voice turned sharp, urgent. "Adrein, check her pockets. Leora—give me your phone."
Leora's eyes widened. She clutched her phone tightly. "It's my phone! Why do you want it? I'm not the only Leora in this city, you know."
Adrein had enough. He stepped forward, yanked the phone from her hands, and growled, "Just shut up." He turned the screen toward her. "Tell me the password. Now."
Leora hesitated, then murmured, "It's… Dylan's birthday." she tell it because she was using other phone in this process, and have confident that he can't find it
That made Dylan pause, his eyes flickering with a strange mix of disgust and disbelief. She used his birthday?
He unlocked the phone and began scrolling through the contact and gallery. Meanwhile, Adrein crouched down and started checking her coat pockets.
Suddenly, they both froze.
At the exact same moment, each had found something.
Dylan stared at the screen—his heart clenched. There was a photo, taken today. Ember was in it. She was smiling—radiant, glowing. That soft smile she always gave him, the one that lit up her entire face. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. She was standing right beside Leora.
She was alive. She was here. And she looked happy…
But the pain hit him like a punch in the chest. That smile, those eyes… he couldn't see them now. Not in person. Not when she was still missing.
Across from him, Adrein's voice broke the moment.
"I found it."
Dylan looked up. Adrein was holding something in his palm.
A ring.
Ember's ring.
The custom one Dylan had designed himself and secretly placed a tracker in for her safety.
Adrein stared at it, eyes narrowing. Something wasn't right.
He turned the ring in his hand—and that's when he saw it.
A faint smear of dried blood.
Both men fell silent.
Time slowed.
The air turned cold.
And in that moment, Dylan felt the ground shift beneath him.
"How did you get Ember's ring?" Dylan asked, his voice cold and sharp. His eyes narrowed. "And what the hell is her picture doing on your phone?"
Lai—froze.
Her breath caught in her throat. Her hands trembled. Her mind was spinning, searching for a way out—but there was no escape now. Not from Dylan's eyes. Not from what they'd found.
Dylan stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous. "Lai… just tell me where she is. Tell me before I lose the last bit of patience I have."
Adrein's tone was firmer now, his voice laced with disappointment. "Lai Zhen, answer him. Now."
Both men stood in front of her, unwavering.
"You have no excuse left," Dylan added, each word carved in stone. "So where the hell is Ember? What did you do to her?"
Lai broke.
Tears burst from her eyes as she dropped to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm really sorry… I just—I felt so jealous when I saw her with Brother Dylan… on your date. The way she looked at you—the way you looked at her—I just lost it. I didn't mean to hurt anyone… I didn't know what to do…"
Dylan's jaw clenched, his hands balled into fists at his sides, but he didn't move. Not yet.
Adrein's expression cracked, pain surfacing as he knelt beside his sister and pulled her into a hug. "Lai… it's good that you realize what you did was wrong. But now you need to help us. Please… just tell us where Ember is."
Lai clung to her brother, panicked, shaking.
"I'm scared," she whispered through her sobs. "Brother… I'm really scared."
Adrein stroked her hair gently. "What are you scared of?"
Lai hesitated. Her voice dropped to a whisper—barely audible.
"Blood… There was too much blood… it wouldn't stop coming out…"
Time stopped.
Dylan's heart slammed against his ribs. His breath caught.
Both men froze.
The weight of those words hit like a bullet.
Dylan's voice turned to steel. "We need to move. Now."
He dropped to his knees, grabbed Lai by the shoulders, his eyes burning into hers. "Where. Is. Ember?"
No more games.
No more hesitation.
The girl he loved was out there.
And nothing would stop him from finding her.
Leora wiped her tears, her voice trembling but clear. "Okay... I'll take you there, Brother. But first... let me use the washroom."
Adrein hesitated, but Dylan nodded. "Fine. But make it quick. We're running out of time."
As Leora disappeared down the hall, Dylan's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Emir.
He answered immediately. "Emir, what is it?"
"Did you find her?" Emir's voice was anxious, strained with worry.
Dylan glanced toward the hallway, lowering his voice. "Not yet. We're in the apartment downstairs. We found the girl—Leora. Just get over here, but don't alert the police. Not yet."
Just as he was about to hang up, a loud crash echoed from the bedroom.
Glass? Maybe metal?
Adrein and Dylan froze for half a second before bolting toward the noise.
"What the hell was that?!" Adrein shouted as they threw open the door.
Thick smoke clouded the air.
"Lai " Dylan called out, coughing as the strange gas stung his lungs. But there was no answer.
No sign of her.
Just smoke.
Dense. Chemical. Burning their throats.
In seconds, both Dylan and Adrein were on their knees, their bodies collapsing under the weight of the gas.
Dylan's mind spun in and out of focus.
He reached for the doorframe but missed, his vision going dark around the edges. The world tipped sideways.
He could still feel it—Ember's ring in his hands. The memory of her smile as she leaned on his shoulder, laughing in the wind.
"Ember…" he whispered, barely conscious, "I'll find you… just hold on…"
Sometime later, the door creaked open.
"The smoke worked faster than I thought," Lai—stepped into the room, a sickening smile spreading across her lips. Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she approached the two collapsed figures.
Dylan and Adrein lay motionless on the ground, paralyzed but semi-conscious, their eyes fluttering open just enough to recognize the voice. They couldn't move. Couldn't speak. But they could hear.
And what they heard chilled them to the bone.
"Brother..." Leora whispered as she looked down at Adrein, crouching beside him with a bitter grin. "I knew you'd scold me, like always. You never listened to me. I told you I liked Dylan, but you locked me away like a prisoner. Like I was your responsibility... like I was some child."
Her eyes gleamed with cruelty as she turned to Dylan, crawling beside him like a predator savoring its victory. She traced a finger gently along his jawline.
"Brother Dylan," she said mockingly, "or should I say, just Dylan? I've always hated calling you brother. We're not even related by blood. You said you saw me as a little sister—but I saw you as something more... always."
Her voice dropped to a chilling whisper, seductive and venomous.
"I thought maybe you were just waiting for me to grow up... maybe that was it. But no... it was her. Ember."
Dylan's jaw clenched faintly at the name.
Leora's smile twisted into something darker. "I saw you chasing her. Smiling at her. Touching her like she was your world. And do you know what it felt like, Dylan?" Her voice cracked with false sweetness. "Like someone stabbed a knife right through my chest."
She leaned even closer, her breath warm against his cheek.
"I couldn't take it. So I did what I had to do. I got rid of her. And soon... you'll only have me."
Her lips hovered just inches from his, her gaze obsessive, wicked.
"I'll make sure you never forget me, Dylan. When she's gone... you'll finally see me."
And with that, she stood up, brushing off her skirt casually. As if she hadn't just confessed to something monstrous.
She turned to leave, her voice echoing one last time before the door clicked shut.
"Rest now. You'll need your strength for what comes next."
The room fell into suffocating silence—except for the pounding of Dylan's heart, burning with helpless fury and the overwhelming need to save Ember.
After a short while, Adrein and Dylan regained their strength, though the weight of what had just happened still lingered in the room like a storm refusing to pass. dylan's breathing was shallow, his thoughts tangled in confusion and angry. Just then, the door creaked open—and Emir stepped inside, his eyes scanning the room sharply.
"What happened here?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.
Dylan rose slowly. "Lai… ran away," he said quietly, his jaw clenched.
Emir frowned. "Wait, you said Lai? But we're supposed to be tracking Leora. Why'd you call her by Adrien's sister's name?"
Adrien stepped forward, "You're right. Lai is my little sister... Leora is her second name—the one she's using now."
Emir's expression darkened with a slow, dawning horror. "You mean... Lai is back? And she's targeting Ember —just like she did in the past? Just like all those other girls who got close to Dylan?"
Dylan's eyes flashed with a rare, dangerous intensity. "Exactly," he said in a low, fierce voice.
Emir looked at them, urgency rising in his tone. "Then what do we do now?"
Dylan's gaze didn't waver. "We let her think she's won... for now." Then he stood fully, a determined spark in his eyes. "I slipped the ring into her pocket. We can track her."
Emir's face lit with approval. "You did good, man. Then what are we waiting for?"
Just as Dylan and the others were preparing to leave, his phone buzzed sharply in his hand. The screen flashed with an international number. He froze for a moment, instincts tingling. Then, without a word, he answered and tapped the speaker button.
A harsh, angry voice cut through the silence like a knife. "I know what you did to her. And I swear… you'll regret it."
Dylan's brows furrowed, confusion darkening his features. "Hello? I don't know what you're talking about. If this is some kind of prank, cut the crap and hang up."
But the voice only grew colder. "So now you're pretending? You used her, and now you're just going to throw her away?"
Dylan's jaw tightened. The room around him faded as he focused on the voice. "Listen, man—whatever you're trying to say, say it clearly. I've got urgent matters to deal with."
Then the name dropped.
"You know I'm talking about Ember."
The sound of her name, spoken by a stranger, hit Dylan like a thunderclap. His body tensed, heart pounding violently in his chest.
"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice low and deadly. "How do you know Ember?"
"I'm Dr. Zayne," came the reply. "Her friend. And her doctor."
A memory flashed in Dylan's mind—Ember had mentioned him once. He swallowed, trying to contain the growing storm in his chest. "Dr. Zayne… are you from Country I?"
"Yes," Zayne snapped. "And spare me the pleasantries, you bastard. What did you do to Ember? Why the hell is she like this?"
Dylan's blood ran cold. "What happened to her?" His voice cracked slightly, and even Emir and Adrien turned sharply toward him.
A dry, bitter laugh came from the speaker. "You really don't know?"
"I'm serious," Dylan pleaded, desperation leaking into his voice. "Please. I'm worried. Just tell me what happened to her."
Zayne's voice was ice. "Ember was found unconscious this morning. On her bed. Her head was bleeding—badly. Someone tried to bandage it, but they did it so poorly, the cloth just soaked up the blood instead of stopping it. She was fine last night, perfectly fine. And now?" There was a pause—full of rage. "Now she's barely breathing."
Dylan felt the ground shift beneath him. Ember… hurt? He couldn't breathe.
Zayne continued, cruel and unrelenting. "And the ring—the one she wore like it was part of her soul? It's gone. Her finger's so damaged, I doubt she'll wear a ring for a long time again. You know what that did to her parents? Seeing their daughter like that, first thing in the morning?" His voice broke into fury. "You did this. Didn't you? You heartless bastard."
Dylan staggered back a step, his knuckles white around the phone. The guilt was instant. Burning. Consuming. He had left her. He should've been there.
"Where are you?" Zayne hissed. "I'm calling the police. And I'll make sure you pay for what you've done."
Hearing Zayne's words shattered whatever strength Dylan had left. He had tried—desperately—to hold himself together, to look composed, to seem strong. But now… it was all too much.
The guilt, the fear, the unbearable thought of Ember lying unconscious.
It broke him.
He collapsed to the floor, knees hitting the cold tiles with a thud. His voice cracked as he whispered, "You're right… I'm the one who pulled her into this mess. Is she… is she going to be all right?"
Zayne's voice came through, rough but honest. "She's alive. But we can't say anything for sure until she wakes up."
Adrien quickly knelt beside Dylan, took the phone from his trembling hands, and raised it to his ear. "Calm down, Dr. Zayne. I'm Dr. Adrien. Has Ember ever told you anything about her condition before?"
There was a pause. Then Zayne responded, confused. "What condition? Are you referring to her hemophilia—or something else?"
Adrien nodded, his voice tight. "So… you know she has hemophilia?"
"I only found out today," Zayne replied, the frustration still lingering in his tone.
Adrien inhaled deeply. "I'm about to tell you something—and you need to believe me. Please. We don't have much time to save Ember, so listen carefully."
Zayne paused, then finally said, "All right. I'm listening."
"Where did you get Dylan's number?" Adrien asked.
Zayne answered without hesitation. "I checked Ember's personal diary."
Adrien opened his mouth, about to say something—but Dylan shot up, anger flashing in his eyes.
"How could you read her diary without her permission?" he snapped.
Adrien spun toward him, sharp. "Just shut up, Dylan. This is not the time to be jealous." He turned back to the phone. "Let's get moving. Dylan, track Ember. Emir, you drive."
Dylan didn't argue. He said nothing at all. The fury in his chest had melted into a hollow panic. He pulled out ember's phone and activated the tracker—his fingers trembling as he located the ring.
They all rushed to the parking lot, feet pounding against the pavement like a heartbeat in a storm.
As they moved, Adrien kept the call going. "Did you read anything else?"
Zayne sighed. "No. Just one thing. I can't bring myself to ."
His voice softened—almost like guilt. "Ember once told me she had a boyfriend. When I opened the diary, the name on the front was Dylan. On the very last page, she'd written this number… with a note beside it. 'In case of emergency.'"
Dylan's breath caught. That one sentence sliced through him deeper than any accusation could.
She'd trusted him—enough to leave his name in her final pages. And now she was bleeding, broken, and alone.
But not for long.
Because Dylan wasn't going to let anything happen to her.
Not again.
Adrien gripped the phone tightly as they sped through the streets. The engine roared beneath them, but his voice remained calm—serious. "I've always known Ember is smart. Too smart for her own good sometimes. So, Doctor… tell me something. Have you ever read the book 'The Man and the Star'?"
There was a short pause before Zayne responded. "Yeah… I've read it. In fact, I'm the one who gave it to Ember when she asked."
Adrien nodded, as if confirming something to himself. "Then it'll be easier for you to understand. Ember… she's facing the same situation as the man in that book."
"What?" Zayne's voice rose in disbelief.
"I need you to believe me," Adrien said firmly. "Check your phone. I've sent our location. As you can see—we're not in Country I. We're in Country T, in a city called Haliçis. Ember didn't just come here. She… travels here when she falls asleep."
There was silence on the other end of the line. The kind of silence filled with disbelief. Adrien pressed on.
"I know it sounds insane. But it's real. She didn't imagine Dylan. She didn't imagine this place. She's really been living a second life here… with him."
Finally, Zayne spoke. "Can you send me proof?"
Adrien hesitated. Before he could reply, Dylan leaned over, his voice cold and clipped. "You want proof?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Fine. I'll send you pictures."
Ding! Ding!
Zayne opened the files.
In the first photo, Ember was glowing—truly glowing—in Dylan's arms, smiling like she had the sun tucked beneath her skin. In the next, she stood with tears in her eyes, both hands covering her mouth as Dylan knelt before her, a ring in his palm. Her eyes shimmered with so much love, so much joy—it was undeniable. The same expression she had the day she picked out that simple little gift for him, eyes sparkling as if she held the whole world.
Adrien's voice returned. "Check her back. She has a tattoo there. A star. It's the mark of her connection to this ."
But Dylan cut in, his voice sharp, protective, even a little possessive. "No. Don't you dare look at it."
Emir, from the driving seat, burst into laughter. Dylan shot him a glare.
"Shut up." Then, back into the phone, Dylan growled, "Zayne, don't even think about looking at it. Or I swear to God, I'll come find you myself."
There was no humor in his voice. Only fire.
Adrien's eyes narrowed as something clicked in his memory. He remembered exactly where Ember's tattoo was—hidden, intimate, private.
"Yeah, you can't check it yourself," he said quickly. "But you can ask a female nurse to look at it."
Zayne's tone softened slightly. "Okay. I'll have her do that."
Adrien continued, his voice professional but laced with concern. "If you have any problems treating Ember—anything at all—call me. I'll share my personal number with you."
"All right," Zayne replied. Just then, a second call came through. He paused. "Hold on a second, I need to take this."
He switched the line. "Hello? Who is this?"
A nurse's anxious voice came through, panicked and rushed. "Doctor—it's the girl you brought in this morning. Something's wrong. Her breathing's become erratic, and her pulse… it's unstable."
Zayne's heart jumped. "I'm coming. Keep monitoring her."
He ended the call immediately.
Back in the car, Adrien asked, tense, "What happened?"
Zayne didn't hold back. "Ember… she's having difficulty breathing. I'm going to check on her right now."
Dylan froze.
"What?" His voice cracked—like a dam threatening to burst. Panic flared in his chest, tearing at the calm he'd tried so hard to maintain.
Adrien leaned forward, his tone sharp but composed. "Call us back the moment she stabilizes. And if you need guidance, don't hesitate to call."
Zayne agreed, and the call ended.
Dylan stared blankly at the screen for a moment, then clenched his jaw. The thought of Ember struggling to breathe—alone, helpless—tore him apart.
He muttered under his breath, "Hold on, Ember… I'm coming. I swear, I won't let anything happen to you."
His fingers tightened around his phone, knuckles white. Not even fate would keep him from her now.