when sky forgot my name

Chapter 08 –

POV: Lyra Vale

One word: "ECHO."A hand-drawn map.Of my house.And a red X marked on my bedroom window.

My pulse dropped. Not because I was shocked anymore—But because I knew what this meant.

Someone was still here.

The threat wasn't just a letter.It was inside the walls.

I turned slowly toward the hallway, my fingers curling tighter around the gun.Trigger ready.Every muscle in my body on high alert.

The window…Was slightly open.And in the faint reflection—I saw it.A flicker. A silhouette.

Someone was watching me.

My breath stopped.

I took slow, silent steps closer, the weight of the gun cold in my palm—Then suddenly—

"Miss Lyra!"

Detective Rael Callen's voice broke through the silence.Too loud. Too sudden.

The shadow moved.The figure flinched.And in a split-second—he leapt out the window.

Without thinking, I ran.

The drop wasn't high.A child could've jumped.But it scraped my legs and bruised my side.

Still, I ran.

The masked man hit the ground hard but started sprinting, clutching his side.I chased him with everything I had left in me.Blood throbbed in my ears. My legs ached.But I didn't stop.

Two police officers joined behind me.We were gaining on him.

But just as we neared the main gate—

Bang.

My security guard tried to intercept him.

He was shot.Point-blank.

I screamed—"NO!"—but it was too late.

The guard collapsed.Blood spilled over the ground like ink on white paper.

Something in me cracked.Something… dark.But I kept running.

I had to know who was behind that mask.I had to end this.

I turned a sharp corner—And then—

Pain.

A sharp hit to the back of my head.My vision spun.Everything blurred.

I staggered, turned around with the gun in hand—barely able to focus—I saw another figure. Or maybe the same one. My vision was failing.I raised the gun. My finger brushed the trigger—one inch away from firing.

"Not now," I thought."Not now. If I fall here… they'll kill me."

But I was too slow.The darkness swallowed me.

I collapsed.

POV: Detective Rael Callen

It was chaos.

Blood in the hall. Bodies in the rooms.A house that looked more like a crime scene from a war movie than a CEO's villa.

"Miss Lyra Vale?"

"Miss Lyra Vale?" I called again, confused.She didn't even glance back.

"Wait—why are you running? Miss Vale—wait!"

Before I could react, she jumped.

Out the window.

I rushed forward, heart pounding.

I peered down—but she was gone.

Damn it.

I, along with two of my officers, ran to the lower level and burst outside, trying to catch up. But we were already behind.

Too behind.

Then—gunfire.A sharp, violent bang.

One of Lyra's guards had tried to stop the masked suspect… and was shot.The man dropped instantly—blood gushing across the concrete like a fountain of horror.

We saw Lyra slow down—she was frozen for a moment.I shouted, "Miss Vale! He went right!"

But she couldn't hear me.She took a turn—left.

No. No, no, no.

We ran faster, but by the time we reached the turn—It was too late.

The masked man had already struck her.

Lyra was on the ground—unconscious, limp.

And now—two men were dragging her toward a black van.

Unmarked plates.No logos.Nothing.

We raised our weapons. "Police! Drop her!"

But they didn't listen.

One of them shouted something in a foreign language and jumped in the van.The other threw a smoke bomb—covering their escape in a thick gray cloud.

We barely managed to drag Lyra back from the edge of the road. But then—

The van screeched away.

I barked into the radio, "Mobilize all units! Black van—no plate, tinted windows—heading north! Block all intersections!"

We jumped into our patrol car and followed.My hands gripped the wheel, heart hammering.

"Don't let them vanish," I whispered.

We were on their tail—sirens blaring, tires burning.

The van was fast, aggressive, dodging cars. But we kept up.

Then suddenly—something insane happened.

The back doors of the van swung open.

And we saw it—Lyra.

They threw her out.

At full speed.Like she was nothing.

She hit the ground with a sickening thud—bounced once, then rolled down the highway like a ragdoll.

"No, no, no!" I shouted.

I swerved hard—trying to avoid hitting her.

The car skidded.

We crashed into the guardrail.

A deafening metal scream.

Pain shot through my arm. Smoke filled the vehicle.

I was conscious—but barely. My officers groaned behind me.The car was catching fire.

Through the broken windshield, I saw Lyra—motionless in the middle of the road.

The van?

It didn't run her over.

It turned.

They didn't want to kill her.Not yet.

They wanted to send a message.

And then—Boom.

An explosion.

Everything went black.

[End of Chapter 08 – The Echo Bleeds]