Chapter 2

Lily's hands were still trembling as she sat in the passenger seat of Noah's car, the leather notebook clutched tightly against her chest. The city lights blurred outside the rain-slicked windows as he drove, his grip on the wheel tight, his jaw clenched in frustration.

She shouldn't be here.

She should have run the moment she had the chance.

But Noah had been right. She was in danger, and she had no idea who was coming for her.

"So," she said, breaking the silence. "Where exactly are you taking me?"

Noah didn't glance her way. His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead, his expression unreadable. "Somewhere safe."

Lily scoffed. "Yeah, that doesn't sound vague and ominous at all."

He exhaled through his nose, clearly annoyed. "You're the one who wouldn't stop running. If you'd just handed me the damn book, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Her fingers tightened around the notebook. "You expect me to just hand over something that could explain why my father disappeared? Why my brother was taken from me?"

Noah's silence was enough of an answer.

Lily turned her gaze out the window, watching the city shrink behind them. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, leaving streaks against the glass. The further they drove, the fewer streetlights there were, the roads twisting into unfamiliar territory.

Her pulse quickened. "Where are we?"

Noah finally glanced at her, his expression calm but firm. "I told you—somewhere safe."

Lily shifted in her seat, uneasy. "If you're kidnapping me, just be honest about it."

A short, humorless chuckle escaped him. "If I were kidnapping you, you'd already be tied up in the trunk."

She scowled. "Charming."

A few minutes later, he pulled onto a dirt road, the car bouncing slightly as it rolled over uneven ground. The trees grew denser around them, the shadows stretching long beneath the faint moonlight. Lily swallowed hard. This was the part in horror movies where things went terribly wrong.

Noah stopped the car in front of a secluded cabin, its wooden structure barely visible in the darkness.

"You live here?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged, stepping out of the car. "It does the job."

Lily hesitated before following. The air smelled of damp earth and pine, the silence pressing against her ears. She kept a tight grip on the book as she stepped onto the wooden porch.

Noah unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing a surprisingly well-kept interior. It wasn't luxurious, but it was far from the run-down shack she had expected. The furniture was simple—dark leather, clean wood, nothing unnecessary. A fireplace sat at the far end, and a kitchen area was visible to the right.

Noah shrugged off his coat, tossing it onto a chair before locking the door behind them.

Lily stiffened. "You really don't have to lock the door. It's not like I'm going to—"

"Run?" he interrupted, giving her a pointed look.

She pressed her lips together. Fair enough.

He gestured toward the couch. "Sit."

"Not a dog," she muttered, but she sat anyway.

Noah leaned against the armrest of a chair, his sharp gaze fixed on her. "You need to tell me exactly how you got that book."

Lily exhaled. "I found it in my father's old office."

His brow furrowed. "That office should have been cleared out years ago."

"Well, apparently, someone didn't do a very good job," she shot back. "It was hidden in a compartment under the desk. I found it a few weeks ago and started going through it, trying to piece together what my father had been involved in. Then, suddenly, people started following me. And now here we are."

Noah ran a hand down his face. "You don't even know what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"

Lily narrowed her eyes. "You keep saying that, but you're not explaining anything. So why don't you tell me what's in this book that has everyone losing their minds?"

Noah stared at her for a long moment, debating something in his head. Then, with a resigned sigh, he pushed off the chair and moved toward the kitchen.

He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the counter, poured himself a glass, and took a slow sip.

Then he looked at her.

"Your father," he said, voice low, "wasn't just a businessman. He was involved in things—dangerous things—that made him powerful enemies. That book?" He nodded toward it. "It's not just a journal. It's evidence."

Lily's throat tightened. "Evidence of what?"

Noah hesitated. Then, finally—

"Treason."

The word slammed into her like a physical blow.

Her hands gripped the edges of the notebook as if it might suddenly burn her. "That's not possible. My father was loyal. He would never—"

Noah shook his head. "Loyalty doesn't mean much when you're playing with the wrong people. And right now, those people are after you, because if that book falls into the wrong hands, it could expose things that were meant to stay buried."

Lily swallowed hard. The weight of the book in her lap suddenly felt unbearable.

If Noah was telling the truth, then her father had been involved in something dangerous. Something that had cost him his life. And if Elias's name was in that book too…

Her blood ran cold.

"You're saying this book could get me killed," she murmured.

Noah's gaze was steady. "It already has people hunting you. That's why you need to be smart about this. No more running. No more reckless decisions." He took another sip of whiskey. "Unless you want to end up dead."

Lily clenched her jaw. "I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing."

Noah smirked. "Didn't think you would."

A tense silence stretched between them.

Lily's thoughts raced. She had spent years searching for answers about her father's disappearance. She had chased ghosts, followed dead ends, and now, finally, she had something real. Something that could explain why her family had been destroyed.

But the truth came with a price.

And she wasn't sure she was ready to pay it.