The men stopped.
Not attacking.
Waiting.
One of them stepped forward, lowering his flashlight slightly.
Man: “Emma Blake… you shouldn’t be involved in this.”
Emma froze.
He knew her name.
Emma: “Who are you?”
The man hesitated.
Then spoke:
Man: “I worked with your sister.”
The world tilted.
Emma (whispering): “Sophia is alive…”
The boy looked between them, confused but hopeful.
Boy: “You know my mom?”
The man nodded slowly.
Man: “She didn’t disappear. She went into hiding.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small encrypted drive.
Man: “And what she hid… is inside this.”
Suddenly—sirens echoed in the distance.
The man’s expression changed instantly.
Man: “They tracked us.”
The boy grabbed Emma’s hand tighter.
Boy: “They’re coming again…”
Emma looked at the drive.
Then at the boy.
Then at the alley exit glowing with red and blue emergency lights approaching fast.
She made a decision.
Emma: “Give it to me.”
The man hesitated… then placed the drive in her hand.
The sirens got louder.
Footsteps returned—more this time.
A voice echoed from the street:
Unknown Voice: “We know you’re in there.”
Emma clenched the drive.
The boy looked up at her.
Boy: “Are you going to leave me too?”
Emma looked at him… then toward the approaching lights.
Emma (firm): “No.”
She turned toward the darkness deeper in the alley.
Emma: “We finish this together.”
And they ran—straight into the unknown.
