The entire ER department had fallen silent the moment Elise entered.
Her clothes were soaked in blood.
Crimson stains covered her trembling hands, even her face.
Nurses exchanged uneasy glances while a doctor stepped forward cautiously.
“We should call the police,” he muttered under his breath before signaling one of the staff members.
Elise barely heard him.
Everything around her sounded distant… muffled… unreal.
Almost an hour later, a nurse finally approached her carefully and leaned close enough to whisper,
“You should clean yourself up before the police arrive.”
Elise slowly nodded.
Her legs felt weak as she walked toward the restroom.
The fluorescent light flickered above her the moment she stepped inside.
And then—
She looked into the mirror.
For a second, she couldn’t recognize the person staring back at her.
Blood on her cheeks.
Blood beneath her nails.
Fear inside her hollow eyes.
Her breathing became uneven.
“No…” she whispered shakily.
Suddenly, she turned on the sink and started washing herself aggressively, scrubbing her skin over and over as if she could erase everything she had seen.
But the blood wasn’t what terrified her.
It was the memory.
The screaming.
The lifeless body.
The laughter of the killer.
Elise gripped the sink tightly before breaking down completely.
For the first time in her life…
She wanted to die.
A painful sob escaped her lips as memories of her late parents flooded her mind.
“Mom…”
“Dad…”
Her voice cracked helplessly inside the empty restroom.
But no one answered.
Because they had been gone for years.
________________________________
Lucien arrived at Enzo’s palace late at night.
The moment the guards noticed his presence, the entire atmosphere shifted.
Every servant and guard immediately stood straight in attention before bowing respectfully to the President.
His sharp footsteps echoed through the enormous hallway.
“Where is he?” Lucien asked calmly, yet the hidden anger in his voice was enough to make everyone nervous.
The staff exchanged anxious glances with one another until finally, the head servant stepped forward carefully.
“Sir… he is not feeling well,” the man said respectfully.
“He caught a fever because of the cold weather, so he has been resting in his room.”
For a moment, silence filled the hall.
Then suddenly—
Lucien’s expression softened completely.
The coldness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by quiet concern.
“Alright,” he said gently.
“Everyone, return to your work.”
Without waiting for another word, the President turned and started walking toward Enzo’s room himself.
His footsteps were still calm and composed…
But for the first time that night, they carried worry instead of anger.
Lucien slowly opened the door.
The room was dimly lit, filled with cold air and complete silence.
Enzo was lying weakly on the bed, his breathing uneven.
Even though the weather was freezing, sweat covered his forehead and neck as if his body was burning from the inside.
The President’s eyes softened immediately.
Without making much noise, Lucien walked toward the bed and slowly sat beside him.
He carefully placed his hand against Enzo’s forehead.
His fever was high.
A faint frown appeared on Lucien’s face.
At the gentle touch, Enzo slowly opened his tired eyes.
For a moment, his vision remained blurry.
But the second he recognized the man sitting beside him—
“…President?” he whispered weakly.
He immediately tried to get up and sit properly despite his condition.
But before he could move further, Lucien gently pressed a hand against his shoulder.
“Don’t,” he said softly.
“Lie down.”
His voice carried an authority that couldn’t be disobeyed…
Yet it was strangely comforting at the same time.
Enzo slowly relaxed back onto the bed while Lucien remained sitting beside him quietly, watching over him in silence.
“It happened so suddenly, Enzo… what happened?” Lucien asked in a quiet, caring voice.
Enzo blinked twice slowly before looking away.
The room became silent again.
Lucien kept watching him carefully, as if trying to read the thoughts hidden behind his exhausted eyes.
“Are you hiding something from me?” he asked once more, this time softer… almost hopeful.
As if he wanted Enzo to finally tell him the truth.
But Enzo remained silent.
His fingers tightened slightly around the blanket while his expression turned distant.
That silence alone was enough to make Lucien uneasy.
Then finally—
“I want you to know something…” Lucien spoke again, though this time his voice trembled faintly.
“She’s gone.”
Enzo’s eyes slowly lifted toward him.
“She disappeared from that world.”
For the first time, pain became visible on Lucien’s face.
Not anger.
Not authority.
Just grief.
The kind of grief a person hides for too long until even breathing starts to hurt.
“I know she’s not safe.”
Enzo’s voice was low but certain.
Lucien looked at him carefully, sensing there was something Enzo still wasn’t saying.
Before he could ask another question, Enzo’s phone suddenly rang.
The sharp sound broke the silence inside the room.
Enzo glanced at the caller ID and immediately answered.
As he listened, his exhausted expression changed instantly.
His eyes widened.
“What?” he muttered under his breath.
Despite his fever, he quickly pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Lucien’s expression turned serious and curious at the sudden reaction.
“What happened, Enzo?”
Enzo slowly lowered the phone from his ear before looking directly at him.
“Lucien…” he said quietly.
“Another murder case happened in the dark alley.”
The room fell silent.
For a moment, even the cold air felt heavier.
Then Lucien’s eyes darkened completely.
Because both of them already knew—
This was not a coincidence anymore.
Enzo suddenly felt as if his entire world was collapsing around him.
The news of another murder kept echoing inside his mind, but all he could think about was Elise.
Was she safe?
Was she alone?
Did the killer find her already?
His breathing became heavier with every passing second, and because of the stress, his condition only worsened.
Fever burned through his body while fear slowly consumed his thoughts.
Even just once.
He wanted to tell Lucien everything—
About Elise.
About the truth.
About the strange connection between her and that world.
But he couldn’t.
Not now.
Because if Lucien found out everything too soon, it could put her in even greater danger.
And more than anything…
Enzo was terrified of Elise learning the truth herself.
If she ever discovered that this entire world—
Even time itself—
Had been hiding something from her…
It would destroy her.
The thought alone made Enzo close his eyes painfully.
Because he knew Elise better than anyone.
She would rather suffer alone than accept that her entire existence had been surrounded by lies.
Enzo suddenly got out of bed despite his weak condition.
Ignoring the dizziness, he grabbed his car keys from the table beside him.
Lucien immediately stood up and looked at him sharply.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“You need to rest. I’ll handle everything.”
But Enzo didn’t listen.
Not even for a second.
Without turning back, he walked straight out of the room with hurried steps.
“Enzo—”
Lucien followed after him instantly.
The palace staff became alarmed seeing Enzo leave in such a condition.
A few guards and servants rushed forward, trying to stop him carefully.
“Sir, please—”
“You still have a fever—”
But Enzo ignored everyone.
His mind was somewhere else completely.
The only thing he could think about was Elise.
Meanwhile, Lucien continued following closely behind him in silence.
The moment the staff noticed the President himself walking with Enzo, everyone immediately stepped aside and lowered their heads respectfully.
No one dared interfere anymore.
The tension inside the palace became suffocating as the two men walked toward the exit together—
One hiding the truth.
And the other slowly beginning to sense it.
Both of them stepped into the car without wasting another second.
Lucien sat beside Enzo while the driver immediately started the engine.
“Drive,” Lucien ordered coldly.
Within moments, several black luxury cars followed behind them in perfect formation.
The palace gates slowly opened, and the convoy rushed into the night.
Cold winter air surrounded the streets of Paris.
Snow rested quietly along the sidewalks and rooftops while the golden city lights reflected against the icy roads.
The cars moved powerfully through the elegant streets like a royal procession crossing a sleeping kingdom.
People on the roads instinctively stepped aside after noticing the heavily guarded convoy speeding through the city.
Inside the car, silence remained suffocating.
Enzo stared outside the window, his thoughts consumed by Elise.
Meanwhile, Lucien sat beside him with a sharp expression, silently observing every change in Enzo’s behavior.
Tonight no longer felt like a normal investigation.
It felt like a war.
A royal war—
Either to save someone precious…
Or finally uncover the monster hiding beneath the darkness of Paris.
The convoy finally stopped near the dark alley.
One by one, the black car doors opened.
Lucien stepped out first, followed closely by Enzo.
Cold winter wind passed through the narrow streets as both men walked toward the alley in silence.
The place looked abandoned.
Empty.
Yet horrifyingly alive at the same time.
Blood was splashed across the ground and stained parts of the wall, still fresh beneath the dim streetlight.
The police had not arrived yet.
Only the eerie silence remained.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The alley itself felt suffocating—
As if someone had cried there moments ago.
As if fear was still lingering in the air.
And somehow…
It felt like another presence was still watching them from the darkness.
Enzo’s heartbeat became unstable the moment he stepped deeper into the alley.
His eyes searched desperately around the scene.
Meanwhile, Lucien slowly observed the bloodstains with a cold expression, though something about the atmosphere disturbed even him.
This place no longer felt like an ordinary crime scene.
It felt cursed.
“Call the police.”
Lucien’s cold voice echoed through the alley immediately after he arrived.
One of the guards quickly nodded and stepped away to make the call.
“Check the CCTV footage around the area,” Lucien ordered again without wasting another second.
“Yes, sir.”
The men scattered instantly to follow his commands.
Meanwhile, Enzo slowly sat down on the cold ground.
His trembling hands gripped his legs tightly while he lowered his head, hiding his face completely.
His breathing was uneven.
The freezing air around him only made his fever worse.
I should have been more careful…
The thought kept repeating inside his mind like a punishment.
If he had acted sooner…
If he had protected her better…
Maybe none of this would have happened.
Lucien noticed his condition immediately.
Without caring about the dirty ground, the President slowly crouched down in front of him.
“Get up, Enzo,” he said quietly.
Enzo slowly lifted his face.
For the first time, Lucien saw a pleading look in his eyes—
Fear.
Guilt.
Desperation.
As if he was silently begging for help without saying a single word.
Then suddenly—
Enzo’s vision blurred.
His eyes slowly closed.
And before Lucien could react properly, Enzo collapsed forward unconscious.
“Enzo!”
Lucien immediately caught him before his body could hit the ground completely.
For the first time that night, panic flashed across the President’s face.
“Enzo, wake up.”
His voice remained controlled, but the urgency in it was impossible to hide.
Lucien placed a hand against his forehead again and his expression darkened instantly.
His fever had gotten worse.
Much worse.
“Damn it…” he muttered under his breath.
The guards nearby froze after witnessing the scene.
None of them had ever seen the President look this shaken before.
“Call the medical team now!” Lucien ordered sharply.
“And bring the car closer immediately!”
Everyone rushed into action at once.
Snow-filled wind passed through the alley, moving Enzo’s weak hair slightly while his face remained pale and exhausted.
Lucien stared at him silently for a moment.
Something was terribly wrong.
This wasn’t just fear or illness anymore.
It looked as if Enzo had been carrying the weight of something unbearable alone for far too long.
Then Lucien remembered the pleading look in his eyes before collapsing.
And suddenly—
A frightening thought crossed his mind.
“Enzo…” he whispered quietly.
“What exactly are you hiding from me?”
The moment they reached the hospital, the medical staff rushed toward the emergency entrance in panic.
“Move quickly!”
“Prepare the room!”
The royal chief being brought into the hospital unconscious was enough to throw the entire building into chaos.
Lucien walked beside the stretcher with fast steps, refusing to leave Enzo alone even for a moment.
Everyone around them looked shocked.
None of the staff had ever seen the President appear like this before.
He was still wearing his dark night pants and loose shirt, clearly having left the palace in a hurry.
His veins were visible from the cold and stress while he continuously ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair.
For the first time—
He looked less like a powerful President…
And more like someone terrified of losing a person important to him.
The doctors quickly began checking Enzo’s condition.
Several tense minutes passed before Lucien finally stepped closer.
“What happened to him?” he asked immediately.
The doctor hesitated for a second before answering carefully.
“Sir… he has been under extreme stress.”
Lucien’s expression changed instantly.
“So… it’s not because of the weather?”
The doctor slowly shook his head.
“No, sir.”
“It’s because of stress.”
Silence filled the room.
Lucien slowly looked toward the unconscious Enzo lying on the hospital bed.
And suddenly, everything from tonight replayed inside his mind—
The fear in Enzo’s eyes.
His desperate behavior.
His obsession with reaching the alley.
The way he kept hiding something.
Lucien’s jaw tightened slightly.
Because now he knew one thing for certain.
Enzo wasn’t collapsing because of illness alone.
Something was breaking him from the inside.
The hospital room had finally become quiet.
Only the faint sound of the heart monitor echoed through the cold atmosphere.
An IV drip was connected to Enzo’s left hand while he lay unconscious on the bed, his face pale from exhaustion and stress.
Lucien sat silently beside him.
The dim hospital light reflected against his tired eyes as he slowly moved his fingers through Enzo’s hair, carefully brushing the strands away from his forehead.
For once, the President looked completely defenseless.
No authority.
No cold expression.
Just fear.
“Please wake up, my friend…” Lucien whispered quietly.
His voice trembled slightly.
“I can’t afford this.”
He lowered his gaze for a moment before speaking again, almost like a broken confession.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
There was pain hidden behind every word.
Because Lucien had already lost too many people in his life.
And the thought of losing Enzo too—
It terrified him more than he wanted to admit.
Meanwhile, Enzo remained unconscious, unaware of the silent desperation in Lucien’s voice as the winter night continued outside the hospital windows.
The long dark night finally faded into morning.
Soft sunlight entered through the hospital window, and warm golden rays slowly fell across Enzo’s face as he remained asleep on the bed.
The room was quiet.
On the nearby sofa, Lucien’s exhausted body was lying awkwardly, still wearing the same clothes from last night.
He had not slept properly at all.
After a few moments, Lucien slowly opened his eyes and stood up.
He glanced once at Enzo to make sure he was still resting before silently leaving the room.
He walked through the empty corridor and stopped near the large hospital windows outside.
Cold winter air mixed with the warmth of the morning sunlight.
Then his expression hardened again.
“Call Enzo’s staff,” he ordered one of the guards nearby.
“Yes, sir.”
Within minutes, the call connected.
The head staff personally answered.
The man immediately became nervous after hearing that the President himself wanted to speak.
The guard respectfully handed the phone to Lucien.
Lucien’s voice turned cold and direct.
“Don’t try to hide anything from me.”
The other side instantly fell silent.
Lucien’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Tell me,” he continued slowly, “why has he been under so much stress lately?”
The head staff remained completely silent for several seconds.
As if desperately searching for the right words.
Or perhaps deciding how much truth he was allowed to reveal.
Before the head staff could say anything—
“Sir!”
A guard suddenly came running toward Lucien.
“What happened?” Lucien asked immediately.
“Chief Enzo woke up, sir… but he is being aggressive. He is taking off his drips.”
Lucien’s expression changed instantly.
He immediately ended the call and hurried back toward the room.
The moment he opened the door, he saw Enzo trying to remove the IV drip connected to his left hand while the nurses tried to stop him.
“Sir, please stop—”
“You still need treatment—”
But Enzo wasn’t listening to anyone.
Lucien quickly walked toward him and held his wrist.
“Enzo.”
Enzo looked at him breathing heavily, his face pale because of fever and stress.
_____________________________________
Before some time…
Right after Lucien left the room, Enzo’s phone suddenly started ringing on the bedside table.
His eyes slowly opened because of the sound.
Still weak from the fever, he picked up the call.
“Hello…”
The moment he heard the voice from the other side—
His expression changed comp letely.
“What?!”
He immediately tried to sit up despite the pain in his body.
The person on the call kept saying something urgently, and with every passing second, Enzo looked more disturbed.
“No… no, that’s impossible,” he muttered.
His breathing became heavier.
Then suddenly, he pulled the blanket away and tried removing the IV drip connected to his hand.
That was the moment the nurses rushed toward him in panic.
_____________________________________
Fear reveals the hidden wounds of the heart, and desperation reveals the secrets of the soul.
But what Enzo knows… may change everything.
@shayarasehar11