With Luc and Teo’s help, I set it in motion.
* * * *
The next morning, I’m sitting by the window of a coffee shop across from the building, watching everything unfold.
At exactly seven a.m., the fire alarm blares to life and not even five minutes later, two fire trucks screech to a halt in front of the building.A dozen firemen jump out, their movements practiced and swift as they begin evacuating everyone inside.Once the building is emptied out, a small group of firefighters head back in, their task to ensure no one is left behind.
But no one notices that these “firefighters” have the full list of residents, or that they’re methodically checking names off the list as if searching for something, or rather,someonespecific.No one questions why the search seems too thorough, why the men’s movements are so calculated.
And also, no one notices that there is no fire.
It was not easy to set this up, but thankfully, the mayor owed us a favor, and we’ve cashed it in now.
I sit there in the coffee shop, pretending to sip my drink while my eyes scan every person leaving the building.I study every face, every figure, searching for a hint, a clue.
But she is not there.
Fuck.
How did she escape again?
* * * *
Once I am back at Teo’s, he is waiting for me.“There is something you need to see.We have been too focused on watching that building.But since it was a dead end, I watched the train station footage again.”
He leads me to his computer and points to the chair next to his.I sit.
“This is the moment she goes into the restroom after arriving at the train station.”
We watch the footage again.People are going in and out for a while before we see her form leaving the restroom again, and Teo pauses the footage.
“Notice anything weird?”
I frown.Her face is hidden by her hoodie, and she has her bag slung over a shoulder.
“What am I looking for?”
“Look at her shoes—they are not the same.”
I curse.Those are not the shoes she was wearing when she walked in.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”Teo chuckles.
“Fuck,” I mutter.“It’s not her.She found a way to swap clothes with someone, but she forgot the shoes.”
We continue to watch and after a while,shecomes out.This time it’s really her.
Different clothes, different bag, blonde hair, probably a wig.
But itisher.
My breath hitches in my throat.
Game fucking over, little flower.
Chapter Fourteen
Lily
