“ELENA!” he screamed.
The woman at the window vanished instantly.
By the time he reached the second floor, the apartment door was already locked.
He pounded against it desperately.
“Open the door!”
Silence.
Then slowly…
the door creaked open.
And there she was.
Elena.
Older. Paler. But unmistakably her.
Daniel stared at her like he was seeing a ghost.
Tears filled his eyes instantly.
“You’re alive…”
Elena couldn’t even speak.
Lucy quietly walked past Daniel and hugged her mother’s hand.
Then Daniel noticed the man standing deeper inside the apartment.
Tall. Cold expression. Expensive suit.
Watching everything carefully.
Daniel’s happiness vanished.
“Who is that?”
Elena’s face changed instantly.
Fear.
Real fear.
Before she could answer, the man stepped forward calmly.
“My name is Victor,” he said. “And Elena is my wife now.”
Daniel lunged at him immediately.
“Elena is MY wife!”
Victor didn’t move.
“Elena,” he said quietly, “tell him.”
Daniel turned toward her.
She looked completely shattered.
Finally, through trembling lips, she whispered:
“They told me you were dead.”
Daniel froze.
“What…?”
Victor sighed impatiently.
“Five years ago,” he explained, “Elena witnessed something she was never supposed to see.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
Victor continued:
“My family has powerful enemies. Elena was placed into protective custody under a new identity.”
Daniel stared at Elena in disbelief.
“You let me mourn you for FIVE YEARS?”
Tears streamed down her face.
“They said if I contacted you… they would kill you.”
Silence filled the apartment.
Then Lucy quietly looked at Daniel.
“My mom cries about you every night.”
Elena broke down instantly.
Daniel felt rage, heartbreak, and love tearing him apart all at once.
Then suddenly—
A loud crash exploded downstairs.
Victor’s expression darkened immediately.
“They found us.”
Gunshots echoed through the building.
Lucy screamed.
Victor pulled out a handgun.
Daniel stared in shock.
“Elena,” Victor ordered, “take Lucy and run. NOW.”
But Elena grabbed Daniel’s hand instead.
And for the first time in five years—
she refused to let go.
