The west border of Drevenica wasn't far, but it felt like another world. The streets ended quickly, giving way to narrow dirt paths lined with thick trees. Few people lived out there. It was quiet, lonely, and full of shadows even during the day.
Adrian walked slowly, checking his phone once, then putting it away. There was no signal out here. Just trees, wind, and his own thoughts.
He thought about Niko Sarev.
A name he had never heard until yesterday.
And yet… Niko had been watching them? Wearing a coat like his? And then vanished the same week Eva did?
Something wasn't right.
He walked for almost thirty minutes before he saw the old house.
It stood at the edge of a clearing. Wooden, grey, and broken. The windows were boarded up. The door hung crooked. The yard was overgrown with wild weeds. But the strangest part was this:
There was smoke coming from the chimney.
Someone was home.
Adrian stayed still for a moment, hidden behind a tree. He watched.
Nothing moved.
Finally, he stepped out slowly, walking toward the house.
The front steps creaked under his weight. He knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again, louder.
Still nothing.
Then, he pushed the door gently.
It opened.
Inside, the house was dark and smelled of earth and wood. A small fire burned in the fireplace, and a kettle sat on a nearby table. Someone had been here recently.
He stepped in.
"Hello?" he called out. "Is anyone here?"
Silence.
Then a voice — soft and cold — came from the corner.
"You shouldn't be here."
Adrian turned quickly.
A figure stepped out of the shadows. Tall, thin, pale face. Black coat.
It was a boy — maybe his age, maybe younger. His hair was messy, his eyes strange. Sharp and distant. Like he hadn't spoken to anyone in years.
"Niko?" Adrian asked.
The boy didn't answer.
"I'm Adrian. Eva was—"
"I know who you are," Niko said, voice calm. "I saw you. Long ago."
Adrian took a step forward. "Did you send the letters?"
Niko shook his head. "No. That wasn't me."
"Do you know where Eva is?"
Silence again. Then Niko walked to a shelf and pulled out a book. He handed it to Adrian.
"She used to come here," he said. "Before she disappeared."
Adrian looked through the book. It was a diary — but not Eva's.
It was Niko's.
He flipped to the last page.
"She said someone was following her. Not me. Someone else.
She said if anything happened, I should tell Adrian.
He would come back. He would follow the trail."
Adrian looked up. "Who was she afraid of?"
Niko's eyes grew distant.
"I don't know," he said. "But she gave me something. Said to keep it safe."
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a box.
Inside was a silver pendant. Adrian recognized it right away.
Eva's.
She never took it off.
He held it in his hands, heart pounding.
She was alive.
She had planned this.
"Why didn't you say anything for ten years?" Adrian asked.
"I was afraid," Niko said simply. "And… I didn't think anyone would believe me."
Adrian nodded. "I believe you now."