Chapter 5 Shadows Of The Past

They left Mara's apartment, adrenaline humming in their veins. The city was quiet now-streets slick beneath flickering neon. Gabriel led them to a decrepit office building where Sebastian had once held court-a two-block squat of stained glass and chipped plaster.

Gabriel picked the lock of the side door, and they slipped inside. The foyer smelled of stale coffee and mildew. A staircase led to a hallway lined with closed doors. Gabriel paused at door 211-Sebastian's office.

"Ready?" he murmured.

Lily nodded, refusing to look at the lock. She couldn't imagine what they'd find.

Gabriel pressed his ear against the door, then produced a paperclip and picked the lock. The door clicked open.

Inside, the office was an eerie mausoleum of luxury and decay. A grand mahogany desk dominated the room, its top cluttered with dust-coated files. Portraits of Sebastian in suits stared down at them, his smug grin frozen in oil paint. On one side of the room, a massive steel safe stood hidden behind a folding screen.

Gabriel closed the door behind them, and they approached the desk. Lily ran her fingers over a stack of papers-contracts, letters, receipts, all bearing Sebastian's embossed seal. She pulled out a thin folder labeled Mara Moreau. Inside, a single sheet of music, stained and dog-eared.

"It's it," Gabriel whispered, catching the sheet. His hands shook as he unfolded the paper to reveal the duet: two lines of melody woven together, one in Gabriel's familiar Fa minor, the other in Mara's soprano clef. Lily recognized the theme: the same pattern he'd played for her in the concert hall.

He sank into the chair behind the desk, clutching the music. "I haven't looked at this in years."

Lily crouched beside him. "We can do this. Together."

Gabriel's gaze found hers-vulnerable, hungry, determined. He nodded. "Okay."

But before they could breathe relief, a loud click echoed through the room. Lily snapped her head toward the safe, where its heavy door swung open with a metallic groan. Behind it, two figures emerged: one draped in a long coat, the other cradling a gun-shining in the low light.

"Gabriel Moreau," said Sebastian's voice, low and amused. He walked forward, hands in his pockets. "I wondered when you'd come for this."

Gabriel rose, sheet music clutched to his chest. "What do you want, Sebastian?"

Sebastian's lips curled. "I want you to understand that everything has a price. And you're still too ignorant to recognize your own."

His henchman stepped forward, leveling the gun at Gabriel's head. Lily lunged to Gabriel's side, pressing herself against his back. "Don't do this," she yelled. "Let us go."

Sebastian chuckled. "Let you go? After all these years? No. I want a show. I want the duet performed tonight-live at the abandoned hall. If you refuse, I kill you both."

Gabriel's jaw tightened. He slowly placed the sheet music on the desk, then looked at Lily. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her chest tight. "We do it."

Sebastian smirked. "Excellent. I'll see you at nine p.m. If you try anything else, she dies."

The henchman shoved Gabriel aside, grabbed Lily by the arm, and dragged her toward the door. Gabriel raised his hand, knuckles white on the sheet music. "Please-"

"Don't beg," Sebastian said, voice cold. "It's not dignified."

Lily's heartbeat thundered as the door closed behind them with a heavy click. Seconds later, footsteps receded down the hallway. She stood trembling, feeling Gabriel's arms wrap around her from behind, though he kept his face forward toward the desk.

Sebastian's message was clear: they were on a ticking clock. By nine that night, Gabriel had to perform the duet publicly-or both would die.

Gabriel's head sagged. "He never changes."

Lily swallowed. "Yes, he does. He's bolder now. More reckless."

Gabriel turned to her, haunted. "I lost Mara because I thought I could outsmart him. I believed I could give him my music, but never my soul. I was wrong."

Lily took his hands, placing them over the sheet music. "Now you have a choice: fight or die."

He stared at the melody, lines of notes dancing in the low light. "I... I don't know if I can play in front of a crowd again."

"Then it's a good thing he's not asking for an audience," Lily said, though her stomach clenched at the thought. "He's just going to the old hall."

Gabriel's gaze sharpened. "Right. The old hall." He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "We need a plan. Security, cameras-everything's rigged. He'll be watching."

Lily nodded. "I'll distract him; you'll play. Then we disappear."

He shook his head. "Not enough time."

She dropped her gaze, realizing he was right. Sebastian had probably rigged the performance space-speakers, hidden cameras, maybe even live stream. If she confronted him directly, his backup would kill them both. They needed an edge.

A sudden idea struck her: "What if we use the element of surprise? We cut power to the hall. Play acoustically. When he expects electronic speakers, we have none. He'll be off-balance."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose. "You think you can do that?"

"I can try." She steeled her expression. "When you walk into the hall, he'll realize his cameras and speakers are useless. Then he has to come to you in person. That's our opening."

Gabriel closed the folder, tucking the sheet music into his jacket. "Okay. If we do this, we do it at first light. I need to know the layout. Samantha"-he grabbed his phone-"my friend at the power company. If she can help me cut the grid locally-"

"Done." Lily pulled her phone from her pocket. "I'll message a friend. Someone on the inside. She owes me a favor."

Gabriel's eyes softened just a bit. "You're a saint."

She smiled, though her heart pounded. "Tonight, we're saving your life."

By dusk, they were back at the apartment-Gabriel's hidden sanctuary. He ran through the plan once more, pacing the narrow living area, Lily seated on the piano bench, folding and refolding the sheet music.

"You go in at exactly 9 p.m.," he said, checking his watch. "You'll find Sebastian in the front balcony-he always likes the best seat for his 'shows.' When you see his silhouette, cut the power. I'll be at center stage."

Lily nodded. "What if he has a backup generator?"

Gabriel frowned. "Then I blow the place." His voice dropped. "It's the only way."

She stood. "I'll disable the generator first. We'll make sure there's no backup."

He shook his head. "You're insane."

She pressed a finger to his lips. "And you're stubborn. Together, we're unstoppable."

He smiled-a brief, haunted curve of his lips-but she saw the doubt behind his eyes. He didn't believe it yet.

Lily slipped off her coat and draped it over the piano. "I'm heading out now." She grabbed her purse. He reached for her hand.

She tilted her chin up, brushing her lips against his. "Be safe. I'll see you soon."

He nodded, eyes dark as midnight. "Bring the music back to me."

She turned and slipped into the hall's night-shrouded streets, determined.

The old concert hall loomed black against a bruised sky when Lily arrived. The marquee, half-collapsed, barely spelled out "HEARTSTONE HALL" in broken letters. A lone security light flickered above the entrance.

Lily skirted the building, finding the maintenance door she'd scoped out earlier. It was rusted, nearly blending into the sagging brick. She slid a slim lockpick from her pocket-her aunt had taught her tricks like this when Lily was sixteen-and snapped off the padlock.

Inside, the musty hallway led to the generator room. Exhaust fumes curled around spilled oil cans. The generator's hum was low-a constant reminder that they were racing against time.

Lily slipped between the pipes, finding the control panel. A tangled mess of wires and switches-no labels. She traced the thick cable that led to the main breaker and cut it with a wirecutter. When the generator sputtered to life and died with a groan, she pressed her palm to the cool metal and whispered, "One down."

Suddenly, bright lights blazed at the end of the hall-Sebastian's goons, flashlights dancing on the walls. Lily's breath hitched. She ducked behind a row of broken chairs as they thundered down the corridor.

"Search everywhere!" one growled. "Find the girl."

Another hissed, "She can't be far. Sebastian'll want her alive."

Lily pressed herself flat, heartbeat in her throat. She caught her breath as they passed. The corridor lights flickered-then remained off. The hum of the generator was gone.

She exhaled, relief searing through her. She peeked around the corner: no one was chasing her. That was half the battle.

Clutching her wirecutters, she slipped out into the main hall through a side door. The stage yawned before her, dark and empty. The seats were tattered, more dust than fabric. Somewhere above, Sebastian and his men waited.

Lily looked up at the balcony. She couldn't see them in the darkness, but she knew they were there. She inched toward the stage doors.

A sudden crash made her spin around. One of Sebastian's henchmen lurched into the hall-his flashlight sweeping toward her. Lily ducked back, pressing herself against a column. The henchman stumbled, bumping elbow-first into the column, dropping his flashlight. It skittered across the floor.

Lily seized her chance. The man cursed and lunged forward. She kicked his knee, hearing a sickening crack as he doubled over. Then she jabbed the wirecutters into his ribs-harsh, brutal. He howled, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

She didn't hesitate. She yanked the man's walkie-talkie from his belt and scrambled to the stage doors. The snap of her jacket against the plywood backstage door sounded deafening in the hush.

She swung the door open and stepped into the wings, adrenaline coursing her veins. The corridor behind the stage smelled of damp wood and rosin-an old violin case lay open, its strings snapped. She slipped through the darkness, heading for center stage.

Gabriel waited beneath the dusty spotlight, holding the duet sheet to his chest. His pulse pounded like a war drum, skin cold with sweat. The hall felt enormous and empty-abandoned to ghosts, save for him. The air smelled of mildew and memories.

He glanced at the balcony, where a single beam of moonlight filtered through a broken window, painting a silver wedge across the seats. Somewhere up there, Sebastian lurked, waiting for the spectacle.

Gabriel closed his eyes and inhaled. He felt Lily's presence in his mind-her courage, her fire, her steady heartbeat. He opened his battered piano bench and set the sheet music on the stand. His fingers hovered over the keys.

A door banged open behind him, and he whirled around-expecting a henchman, a gun, a bullet. Instead, Lily appeared on the wing, her face streaked with sweat and dirt, eyes hard as steel.

"Power's out," she whispered, breathless. "No cameras, no lights. It's just us."

Gabriel nodded, swallowing. "You sure?"

She lifted the walkie-talkie like a trophy. "Any minute Sebastian will realize. But you don't have to worry about them watching. You play."

He turned back to the piano. "I don't know if I can."

"You can," Lily said, stepping toward him. "This is your moment. Not his. Not hers. Yours."

Gabriel closed his eyes. For a moment, he saw Mara-her smile, her laugh, the curl of her hair when they danced around the piano. He felt her hand in his, guiding his fingers to the keys.

Slowly, he exhaled and placed his hands on the ivory. The first note was soft-a hesitant whisper. Then the second. The duet unfolded in his mind: the thing that had felt so impossibly out of reach for six years now lay before him under his fingers.

He played.

The sound was nothing like the last time. It was richer, rougher, more alive. Without speakers, it reverberated through the darkened hall like a heartbeat-steady, determined.

Above, he sensed movement: footsteps scuttling along the balcony.

Gabriel's breath caught. He steeled himself and continued. The second voice was missing-the pull-and-answer of Mara's soprano-but Gabriel's left hand carried her echo, drawing every silence into sound.