Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO HAD NEVER BEEN THEREThe man stood halfway down the staircase.
He was older than Lila remembered.
His hair was silver now.
His face was thinner.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
Calm.
Patient.
Almost kind.
Lila knew him.
Everyone at the Arden Theater knew him.
For three years, he had been one of the people Lila trusted most.
He had helped organize the memorial for Celeste.
He had stood beside her during the investigation into Victor Hale.
He had even held her hand on the night she finally performed her mother's lost finale.
His name was Adrian Voss.
The theater's legal advisor.
The man who had supposedly spent his entire life protecting the Arden Company from powerful people.
But now Anya was pointing a knife at him.
And calling him by another name.
“Edmund,” she whispered.
Lila looked at her.
“Who is Edmund?”
The man's smile disappeared.
“Anya.”
“Do not call me that.”
“You should be resting.”
“I should have killed you twenty-eight years ago.”
Adrian continued down the stairs.
Elise stepped in front of Lila.
He looked at her.
“Still protecting Celeste's child?”
Elise's face went white.
Lila's heart stopped.
“You know my mother?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I knew her better than anyone.”
Anya laughed bitterly.
“That is what he tells everyone.”
Adrian looked toward Noah.
“And you brought the boy.”
Noah stepped backward.
Adrian's expression changed.
For the first time, his calm face showed anger.
“You were never supposed to survive.”
Lila moved in front of Noah.
“What do you want?”
Adrian looked at her.
“The same thing your mother wanted.”
“What?”
“The finale.”
Lila felt cold.
“The second finale?”
Adrian smiled.
“Your mother finally taught you the first half.”
Anya raised the knife.
“Do not touch her.”
Adrian sighed.
“You always were sentimental.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because the work must continue.”
“What work?”
Adrian looked at the old projector.
“Memory.”
He turned toward Lila.
“Your mother believed the body was a prison.”
Lila stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“She believed talent could survive death.”
Anya's expression hardened.
“She believed that because you made her believe it.”
Adrian smiled.
“Your mother was brilliant.”
“Then why did she hate you?”
“Because brilliant people often become frightened when they understand too much.”
Lila felt a sudden movement behind her.
Elise grabbed her.
“Run.”
They moved.
Noah sprinted toward the opposite passage.
Marin followed him.
Lila ran behind them.
Adrian shouted.
“Stop them!”
The hidden room erupted into chaos.
Several men appeared on the staircase.
Lila did not look back.
She heard Anya shout.
Then a crash.
Then the sound of something breaking.
They reached the narrow passage.
Noah knew the way.
He ran faster than all of them.
At the end of the corridor was a metal door.
He pushed it open.
They emerged behind the old theater.
Cold night air struck Lila's face.
Marin collapsed against the wall.
Elise bent over, breathing heavily.
Lila turned toward the entrance.
“Where is Anya?”
Noah said nothing.
Elise looked back toward the passage.
“She's still inside.”
Lila stared at her.
“We have to go back.”
“No.”
“She is your daughter.”
Elise closed her eyes.
“I know.”
“Then go get her!”
Elise did not move.
Lila suddenly understood.
Elise was afraid.
Not of Adrian.
Of the past.
Marin walked toward her.
“You always do this.”
Elise looked at her.
“What?”
“You run when someone needs you.”
Elise's face broke.
Marin pointed toward the theater.
“Go.”
Elise stared at her daughter.
Then ran back inside.
Lila watched her disappear.
Noah stood beside her.
“She will not come back.”
Lila looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because she has been running for twenty-eight years.”
Lila looked toward the dark theater.
Then she heard something.
A melody.
The final melody.
But this time—
it did not stop.
Someone was completing the second finale.
Inside the theater.
May you like
And the person dancing it was not Anya.
It was Elise.
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