The knock came again—louder this time, urgent.
My heart pounded as I crept toward the door. Every instinct told me not to open it… but my hand moved anyway.
I pulled it open.
It was him.
Anthony stood there, soaked from the rain, breathing hard like he’d run all the way from the beach. Up close, there was no doubt—it was really him. Same eyes. Same scar above his eyebrow.
“Please,” he said, his voice low, strained. “We don’t have much time.”
I stumbled back. “You said you didn’t know me.”
“I had to,” he replied quickly, glancing over his shoulder. “They were watching.”
A chill ran through me. “Who is they?”
Before he could answer, headlights flashed through the curtains. A car slowed outside my room.
Anthony grabbed my wrist. “If they find out you recognized me, you’re in danger too.”
My mind spun. “Danger? Anthony, you were dead. I buried you.”
“I didn’t die in that storm,” he said. “I was found—rescued. But not by people who wanted to help.”
My breath caught.
“They gave me a choice,” he continued. “Disappear and work for them… or they make sure you and our child don’t survive.”
Tears filled my eyes. “Our baby… I lost it.”
His face crumpled for a second—real pain breaking through the fear. “I didn’t know…”
The car door outside slammed shut.
Anthony’s grip tightened. “Listen to me. The woman you saw… the little girl—they’re part of my cover. None of it is real. I’ve been trying to get out for years.”
Footsteps approached.
“Why come to me now?” I whispered.
“Because I finally found a way,” he said. “But I can’t do it alone.”
A shadow moved under the door.
Anthony looked at me, desperation in his eyes. “You have to decide. Right now. Trust me… or close this door and forget you ever saw me.”
The doorknob began to turn.
