[Flashback]

After ending the call with Shawn, Ethan was left with nothing but a growing sense of dread.

Fear settled deep in his chest, heavy and suffocating. The thought of something happening to Kathrine clawed at him relentlessly, refusing to let him think straight. Every second that passed felt like a step closer to losing her.

And that was something he could not accept.

Not now.

Not when he knew there had to be a way.

"There has to be something..." he muttered under his breath, his grip tightening around his phone.

His mind raced, going over every detail, every word Shawn had said, every clue they had gathered so far. But nothing seemed enough. Nothing pointed him directly to her.

Until—

A thought struck him.

Sharp. Sudden.

Ethan’s eyes darkened as realization began to take form.

He did not hesitate.

His fingers moved quickly, dialing a number he knew would answer without delay.

The line connected almost instantly.

"Ethan?" Daniel’s voice came through, alert and slightly confused. "Did you find something?"

"Send me Collin’s previous hideout location."

Ethan did not waste a single second on explanations. His voice was firm, leaving no room for questions.

On the other end, Daniel frowned.

"Why that place?" he asked, though his tone already carried a sense of urgency. He knew Ethan well enough to understand that he would not ask for something like this without reason.

But Ethan did not answer immediately.

His gaze remained fixed ahead, his mind already piecing things together.

"Just send it," he repeated, his voice lower this time, edged with something dangerous.

That was enough.

Daniel did not push further.

A second later, a notification appeared on Ethan’s phone.

Location received.

Ethan’s jaw tightened as he stared at the screen, the location burning into his mind.

Without wasting a second, he called Shawn again.

The line connected almost instantly.

"Tell me something," Ethan said, his voice sharp and urgent. "That old hideout of Collin’s... the one Daniel mentioned. Does it have water storage?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

There was a brief pause on the other end, as if Shawn was pulling the details together.

"...Yes," Shawn replied. "It does. Large water containers. The place was used for storage before it was abandoned."

Ethan’s grip on the phone tightened.

"Is it still active?"

"No," Shawn answered immediately. "It’s been abandoned for a while now. No regular movement. Why—"

Ethan did not let him finish.

That was all he needed.

The call ended abruptly as he lowered the phone, his expression turning grim.

Abandoned.

Isolated.

Filled with water containers.

A perfect place.

A perfect trap.

"Damn it, Collin," Ethan muttered, his voice laced with fury.

In the next second, he moved.

He slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the car, the engine roaring to life under his command. There was no hesitation, no second guessing.

Only urgency.

The tires screeched against the road as he sped off, pushing the car to its limits.

Every second mattered.

Every second could mean the difference between life and death.

His mind raced with images he tried to suppress.

Kathrine.

Helpless. Trapped. Struggling.

"No," he growled under his breath, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Hold on... just hold on."

The road blurred before him as he drove, ignoring everything else.

Traffic. Signals. Nothing mattered.

Not when she was out there. Not when she needed him.

The minutes stretched endlessly, each one feeling heavier than the last, until he finally reached

The abandoned structure stood ahead, silent and lifeless, its presence eerie under the fading light. There was no sign of movement, no indication that anything was happening inside.

But Ethan knew better.

His heart pounded violently as he stepped out of the car, his eyes scanning the place with sharp intensity.

"Kathrine..." he breathed.

***

[Present]

Kathrine tried to process everything Ethan had just said, her mind still sluggish from everything she had endured.

The pieces slowly began to fall into place.

Her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at him, trying to make sense of it all.

Ethan noticed the confusion in her eyes.

"Collin wouldn’t use a place that’s still active," he said, his voice calm but firm, guiding her through the logic. "Too many people. Too many eyes. His movements would be tracked easily."

Kathrine listened, her gaze fixed on him.

"So he chose somewhere safer," Ethan continued, his expression hardening. "A place he already knew. Somewhere he had stayed before."

A place no one would think to check again.

"A place the cops would ignore," Kathrine whispered, realization dawning on her.

Ethan gave a slight nod.

"They already searched it once," he said. "After he escaped, it became irrelevant in their eyes. No one would expect him to go back there."

Her fingers tightened slightly around his sleeve.

"That’s why..." she murmured, her voice faint. "That’s why no one found me."

Ethan’s jaw clenched.

"Yes."

For a moment, silence settled between them.

The weight of Collin’s calculation, his precision, it was chilling.

"He planned it," Ethan said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Everything..."

But Kathrine shook her head.

"No... he didn’t."

Her denial came out firm despite the weakness in her body.

Ethan frowned, confusion flashing across his face.

"What do you mean?"

Kathrine’s fingers trembled slightly as they clutched onto him, her gaze distant for a moment as if she was seeing something far beyond the present.

"Collin..." she whispered, her voice unsteady. "He remembers."

Ethan’s expression hardened. "Remembers what?"

Kathrine swallowed, her throat dry.

"His past," she said. "Not just pieces... everything. And now... he’s doing it again."

A cold silence followed.

Ethan’s brows drew together, something uneasy settling in his chest.

"What are you talking about, Kathrine?"

Her eyes slowly lifted to meet his.

There was fear in them.

Not the kind she had shown when she was drowning.

Something deeper.

Something that came from knowing too much.

"He’s not just planning randomly," she continued, her voice barely holding together. "He’s following what already happened... what he already did."

Ethan’s jaw tightened.

"That doesn’t make sense."

But Kathrine only shook her head again, more urgently this time.

"It does," she insisted softly. "Because this... this has already happened before."

The words hung heavy in the air.

Ethan stilled.

A strange tension crept into his chest.

"What are you saying?" he asked, his voice lower now.

Kathrine’s grip on him tightened, as if she needed his warmth to steady herself before saying what came next.

Her lips parted.

And then—

"It was Collin,"

The world seemed to go silent.

Ethan’s gaze snapped to hers, disbelief flashing across his face.

"What?"

Her eyes did not waver.

"It was Collin who killed me," she said, each word slow, deliberate, and heavy with truth. "Everyone... in our past lives."