As she tightened her hold on the man she had captured, she stayed on high alert, watching for anyone attempting to get close.

Her throat felt scorched by stress, her mouth so dry that it felt like it was burning. She kept her lips tightly sealed while the man in black gasped for breath.

Suddenly, loud applause burst from the arena's upper levels.

Ariana's head snapped up instantly.

The man in the black coat, who had been seated on the high platform before, stood up, clapping. The arena fell silent around his solitary applause.

Bennett looked down at Ariana, his face wearing what appeared to be a smile, yet Ariana wasn't deceived. His very presence set her on edge.

She kept her eyes Locked on him. Moments later, he casually drew a gun and pointed it at her, his tone calm but sinister as he said, "Did you really think I care about him?"

The next second, a gunshot rang out.

Ariana's body recoiled, and she instinctively closed her eyes, a tear of frustration trickling down.

Her mind went blank, overwhelmed by the sudden, sickening odor of blood. She feared this was her final moment.

Dying here felt incredibly unfair.

Images of her life before raced through her mind; Melon as a newborn, his first steps, the first time he called her mom, the highs and lows with Theodore, and every moment with Holden since they got back together.

She couldn't believe she might never return home.

Yet, the expected pain didn't come.

Seconds ticked by, and Ariana realized she was unharmed, but there was a warm sensation on her face.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the man in black before her dead, his eyes staring vacantly with blood still seeping from a bullet wound in his forehead.

The blood had splattered onto her face.

Numbly, Ariana released her hold, and the man's body fell to the ground.

She stared at the lifeless body, frozen in place, overwhelmed by fear.

Her gaze shifted to Bennett, her mind blank.