Shattered Light

The explosion of glass sounded like thunder.

Every chandelier in the ballroom shattered at once.

Thousands of crystal fragments rained from the ceiling.

Screams erupted.

People dove for cover.

The room plunged into chaos.

Adrian instinctively raised an arm to shield his face as shards crashed onto the marble floor around him.

For several seconds, all he could hear was breaking glass.

Then silence.

A stunned, terrified silence.

Dust drifted through the air.

The remaining emergency lights flickered weakly.

Adrian lowered his arm immediately.

His eyes searched the ballroom.

The woman.

Where was she?

Across the room, guests were scrambling toward the exits.

Some were crying.

Others were shouting for security.

Several stood frozen in shock.

But the woman was nowhere to be seen.

Again.

She had disappeared.

A curse slipped from Adrian's lips.

For the second time that night, she had vanished before he could reach her.

And for the second time, she'd left him with more questions than answers.

"Mr. Voss!"

Marcus appeared through the crowd.

Two security guards followed close behind.

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

Marcus looked relieved.

"Good. We're leaving."

That wasn't a suggestion.

It was an order.

Adrian almost argued.

Then another section of ceiling glass crashed somewhere nearby.

He changed his mind.

"Fine."

The security team quickly formed around him.

Together they moved toward the main exit.

Guests parted as they passed.

Many looked frightened.

Others looked curious.

Some stared openly.

News of tonight would spread within hours.

By morning, every media outlet in the world would be discussing Adrian Voss's funeral painting.

And that was assuming nobody mentioned the exploding chandeliers.

The thought irritated him.

His life was becoming a spectacle.

He hated spectacles.

They reached the entrance hall moments later.

Unlike the ballroom, this area remained intact.

The massive front doors stood open.

Beyond them, rain poured from a black sky.

Lightning flashed in the distance.

The storm had arrived.

For a brief second, Adrian paused.

Rain.

The painting had shown rain.

A ridiculous coincidence.

Yet it made his skin crawl anyway.

Marcus touched his shoulder.

"Car's ready."

Adrian nodded.

Together they stepped outside.

Cold rain immediately soaked the shoulders of his suit.

The air smelled of wet stone and approaching thunder.

Black luxury vehicles lined the circular driveway.

Security personnel moved between them with practiced efficiency.

Everything looked normal.

Almost.

Then Adrian noticed something strange.

One of the guards was staring toward the edge of the property.

Completely motionless.

Following the man's gaze, Adrian looked toward the iron gates.

His breath caught.

A woman stood beyond them.

Dark hair.

Black dress.

Pale blue eyes.

The rain poured around her, yet she didn't move.

Didn't flinch.

Didn't look away.

She was watching him.

The woman.

A surge of frustration swept through him.

Without thinking, Adrian started forward.

"Sir."

Marcus immediately stepped into his path.

"Move."

Marcus didn't.

"Absolutely not."

"Marcus."

"No."

The single word carried enough force to stop even Adrian.

The security chief followed his gaze toward the gates.

His expression darkened.

"You know her?"

"No."

"Then you're definitely not chasing a stranger into a storm after tonight."

Adrian looked back toward the gates.

The woman was still there.

Watching.

Waiting.

As if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Lightning flashed.

For a fraction of a second, the entire estate lit up.

The gates.

The road.

The trees.

The woman.

Then darkness returned.

And she was gone.

Adrian stared.

Nothing remained except empty rain.

His jaw tightened.

She couldn't have moved that quickly.

Yet there was no sign of her.

No figure retreating into the night.

Nothing.

Marcus sighed heavily.

"Thank you."

Adrian shot him a look.

"For what?"

"For not making my job impossible."

Before Adrian could reply, his phone vibrated.

The sound felt unnaturally loud.

Immediately, both men looked down.

Unknown number.

Again.

Adrian answered without hesitation.

"Who are you?"

Silence.

Static crackled softly through the speaker.

Then a familiar voice spoke.

The woman.

The one from the ballroom.

His pulse quickened instantly.

"Don't leave."

Adrian froze.

Rain drummed against the pavement.

Around him, security continued moving.

Yet everything else faded into the background.

Only her voice remained.

"Where are you?" he demanded.

"Listen to me."

Her voice sounded breathless.

As though she had been running.

"Don't leave the estate."

Adrian laughed bitterly.

"That's the opposite of what everyone else has told me."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

A pause followed.

Then she spoke quietly.

"If you leave tonight, you'll die."

The words struck him like ice water.

Not because he believed them.

Because of how terrified she sounded saying them.

Adrian stepped away from the others.

Rain soaked his hair.

His suit.

His face.

He didn't care.

"Who are you?"

Silence.

Then—

"I don't have time."

"You keep saying that."

Lightning flashed overhead.

Thunder followed seconds later.

The woman took a shaky breath.

"You need to trust me."

Adrian almost laughed.

Trust her?

A stranger who appeared and disappeared like a ghost?

A woman who seemed to know impossible things?

Yet despite himself, he wanted to.

The realization annoyed him.

"What happens if I leave?" he asked.

Another pause.

Longer this time.

When she finally answered, her voice was barely audible.

"You reach the bridge."

Adrian frowned.

"What bridge?"

"The one outside the city."

A chill crawled down his spine.

There was only one bridge on the route to his penthouse.

A long steel suspension bridge crossing the river.

He drove across it regularly.

The woman continued.

"Your driver loses control."

Rain hammered the pavement.

Adrian listened.

Unable to interrupt.

Unable to look away from the darkness beyond the gates.

"The car goes through the barrier."

Her voice trembled.

"It falls."

His heartbeat slowed.

Not from fear.

From concentration.

Every word sounded too specific.

Too detailed.

Like a memory.

Not a prediction.

"You die."

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

Then Adrian asked the question that had haunted him since the ballroom.

"How do you know that?"

For several seconds, she didn't answer.

When she finally spoke, her voice sounded broken.

Almost sad.

"Because I've already seen it."

Adrian's grip tightened around the phone.

"What does that mean?"

The line crackled.

Static surged.

The connection weakened.

"Please," she whispered.

"Stay inside the estate."

"Wai—"

The call ended.

Adrian stared at the screen.

The rain continued falling.

Marcus approached cautiously.

"What happened?"

Adrian didn't answer immediately.

His eyes drifted toward the road beyond the gates.

Toward the route home.

Toward the bridge.

Toward a future he suddenly couldn't stop imagining.

Then something caught his attention.

A black envelope rested on the hood of his car.

It hadn't been there moments ago.

Marcus noticed it too.

Both men exchanged a look.

Slowly, Adrian walked toward it.

Rain soaked the envelope.

Yet the elegant silver writing remained perfectly visible.

It contained only his name.

Adrian Voss.

Nothing else.

No address.

No sender.

Just his name.

The storm rumbled overhead.

Carefully, Adrian picked it up.

Then he opened it.

Inside was a single photograph.

His hands froze.

The picture showed a wrecked black car submerged in dark water.

The driver's side window was shattered.

The front end crushed.

Rain fell across the scene.

And standing on the bridge above was a lone woman in a black dress.

Watching.

On the back of the photograph were six handwritten words.

This time, save yourself before me.

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