The darkness was absolute.
Screams tore through the ballroom.
Glass shattered somewhere near the bar.
Security systems failed one by one, like something had reached inside the building and turned them off.
Adrian Vale stood frozen.
But his hand was still moving.
Toward the piano.
Where the girl was still playing.
Even in darkness.
The music continued.
Impossible.
Guiding him.
He whispered into the void:
“Don’t touch her…”
Another voice answered from the dark—closer this time.
“You don’t get to decide that anymore.”
Flashlights flickered on.
Security guards rushed forward.
And then stopped.
Because the girl was gone.
The piano was empty.
The melody had stopped.
Silence returned like a wound closing too fast.
Adrian’s breathing turned violent.
“Where is she?!” he shouted.
No answer.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered instantly.
A distorted voice:
“You should have stayed away from that song, Adrian.”
His blood ran cold.
“Who is this?”
A pause.
Then:
“Ask yourself why she knows it.”
The line cut.
Adrian looked around wildly.
Guests were panicking, running, collapsing into confusion.
But he saw something near the piano bench.
A small note.
Soaked in rainwater.
He picked it up.
Only three words written:
“Find my mother.”
Suddenly—
A loud crash upstairs.
Security alarms restarted.
And a new voice came over the building’s intercom:
“LOCKDOWN INITIATED.”
Adrian looked up.
And realized something terrifying:
This wasn’t a kidnapping.
It was a message.
And he was already inside it.
