Levi stood at the threshold, ready to go in but he was conflicted.

He was worried about how much trouble Lyse could get into without him around to stop her.

He wanted to go in search of Lyse, ask his men to go in and rescue Lily instead. But he knew Lyse would never forgive him if he did not keep Lily at the top of his priority.

He had a very bad feeling about this. His phone had been ringing with constant updates from his team at the penthouse.

They had found the guards, unconscious but alive. Lyse was gone.

He knew she had run, of course he did. He was not surprised, he was just disappointed. He had left her there for her own safety but she had chosen to ignore it.

He had to get her back. He had to protect her.

But he could not leave Lily. Not now. Not when he was so close.

He had to make a choice. A choice between the two people he cared about most in the world.

He had to trust that Lyse could take care of herself, for now.

He had to trust Ken and Bella. He had to trust that they would find her and keep her safe.

He had to trust that they would not let anything happen to her.

He had to trust them.

He took a deep breath and made his decision.

"Rex," he said, his voice dangerously low. "I’m going in. I want you to find Lyse. Use everything we have. Find her, find Ken, I suspect he will know where she is."

"Yes, sir."

He ended the call and thought about what he would do to Ken if he found out that he had helped Lyse with the escape.

Then he took a deep breath and started to move, his body a coiled spring of lethal intent. He had to end this. Now. He had to get Lily back and he had to get to Lyse.

He knew Ophelia’s game. She wanted him to choose. To run to Lyse and abandon the girl. Or to save the girl and risk losing Lyse.

He was not going to play her game.

He was going to tear her game apart.

Immediately he stepped into the building, some birds flew out of the rafters, startling him. He stopped, listening to see if he could hear anything or anyone.

But when the place remained still, he kept moving.

He made his way down to the generator room, his footsteps echoing in the silence.

He could hear a faint sound, a whimpering. Lily.

He slowed down, his hand on the holstered weapon at his hip.

He reached the door to the generator room and stopped.

He could hear a man’s voice. The masked man. He was talking to Lily.

"Don’t cry, little one. It will all be over soon." He said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Levi’s blood ran cold. He had to act fast.

He kicked the door open, the sound of splintering wood echoing in the small room.

There was no one there. Just the pink teddy bear and a recording device which was playing the sounds Levi had heard through the door.

The room was empty.

It was a trap.

Before he could react, the door slammed shut behind him. The lights went out, plunging him into complete darkness.

Levi ran to the door and tried to open it only to realize it had been locked, trapping him inside securely.

He tried his comms device and could only hear a glitching sound. It appeared that his communication with anyone had been cut.

Before he could wonder on the level of trouble he had found himself in, the recording device went silent.

Then a second later it continued playing, this time it was a woman’s voice.

Ophelia.

"I have to admit, Levi," the recording said, her purr laced with triumphant malice. "You made this far too easy. Did you really think I would use the same old textile factory? So predictable. You men and your big, brawny brains. Always thinking about the fortress, never the bait."

He heard a click, followed by a low hum. The recording continued.

"You see, while you were chasing shadows down here, the real game is being played elsewhere. Lyse, my dear niece, is such a spirited girl. So... heroic. She got a call from me. She’s on her way to Pier 12 right now. She thinks she’s going to save a little girl. All by herself. Isn’t that noble?"

A cold dread, far worse than the darkness, washed over Levi. Pier 12. The docks. A death trap of shipping containers and blind corners.

"Oh, and Ken and Bella are with her," the recording continued, savoring every word. "The whole family reunion. I sent them all a little invitation. It’s going to be quite a party, its such a shame that you won’t be able to join us."

The hum in the room grew louder. Levi looked at the generator, a massive hulk of metal and wiring. A red light on its control panel was blinking.

"I’ve rigged the generator, by the way," Ophelia’s disembodied voice announced cheerfully. "A little overloading mechanism. Very messy. You have about ten minutes before this entire basement becomes a very deep, very hot tomb. Consider it a consolation prize for being such a worthy adversary."

The recording ended with a soft click, replaced by the relentless, accelerating hum of the generator. Sweat beaded on Levi’s brow, but his mind was a cold, clear machine. Ten minutes. He looked around the room. The walls were solid concrete. The door, reinforced steel.

There was no way out, he was truly fucked.

He had failed Lyse, He had sworn to protect and he failed at that.

He thought about Lyse stubbornly going to confront her aunt and something inside him shrivelled.

There was no way that Lyse would win over someone as depraved and manipulative like Ophelia.

He had to get out of here and stop Ophelia.