The cold knot in Stefan''s stomach hadn''t left since the ckout. Every second without Ruby felt like a clock ticking down toward something he didn''t want to name.

    Though he''d left Ethan and officer Dn Walter to check the cameras so he could search ahead, he didn''t know where to start.

    He stood and rubbed his head, wondering if his helplessness was going to cost Ruby her life but just before he could start feeling helpless, a thought shed through his mind and he immediately led Rayna to where it had all started.

    Once they got there, Stefan''s eyes scanned every corner, every shadow, as if she might just step out of one.

    "We''ll start here. If she disappeared right from here then they might not have taken her too far," he said, his voice clipped. "Ask those nurses where the storage rooms and abandoned wards around here are. She could be locked in one of them."

    Rayna nodded and hurried toward a cluster of nurses by the wall. But before she could speak, a sharp, panicked voice rang out down the corridor.

    "Fire! There''s a fire!"

    Stefan''s chest seized. The word seemed to echo inside him, pushing out everything else. How could there be fire in an hospital? And for a fire to break out just when Ruby was missing must mean Ruby''s life was in danger.

    People began shouting, rushing toward one end of the building. Nurses in scrubs pushed trolleys and IV stands out of the way, guiding patients to safety.

    Stefan didn''t think—he just ran, Rayna right behind him. As he ran, he just hoped and prayed that Ruby wasn''t in that fire or that he wasn''t toote.

    As he and Rayna rounded the corner toward the chaos, someone mmed into Stefan''s shoulder.

    "Ruby?" Rayna gasped when she saw who had ran into them.

    The woman stumbled back, eyes wide. How could she had ran into Stefan? Good thing she''d thought ahead. She thought, looking at Ruby''s clothes which she''d exchanged into.

    Stefan looked at her and he recognized those clothes instantly. Her hair was long, wavy and the same chestnut brown as Ruby''s, but something about it was… different. This one seemed straighter and too neat to be someone that''d been kidnapped. Except she wasn''t kidnapped and had ran off on her own but Ruby wouldn''t do that.

    "Rayna," Ivy breathed, voice trembling. "It''s me. I was taken in that ck out but I… I escaped. They had me locked in some old room, but when I saw they were going to kill me, I beat them to it. I set a fire to distract Ivy and her goons so I can escape. Oh my God, I''m so d I came out."

    Rayna threw her arms around her, relief breaking across her face. "Oh my God, you''re okay. Who took you? Where did they—"

    Before Rayna could finish, Ivy broke the embrace and quickly threw her hands around Stefan''s waist, crying.

    "Baby, I''m safe now. Let''s go. We have to leave here now please," Ivy said, her voice trembling. "I''m scared of what they''d do to me if they catch me. We have to leave. I don''t want you to lose me," Ivy said, urging Stefan.

    But Stefan didn''t move. His eyes narrowed. Something was wrong.

    He would''ve thought she was his Ruby too but then this person''s voice wasn''t like Ruby''s. Ruby always spoke softly, but this softness sounded forced, like an imitation.

    And those clothes… they were Ruby''s, yes, but when Ruby was wearing those pair of jeans earlier, it was tighter on her. Ruby''s body had changed with the pregnancy and even though her bump was still not noticeable, her clothes were getting tighter because of pregnancy fat.

    And then the hair—Ruby''s had a soft wave to it, no matter how she brushed it. This was straighter, though with a hint of waves. This was Ivy, not his Ruby.

    Ivy had perhaps tied Ruby up somewhere and was pretending to be Ruby to buy time.

    "You''re not Ruby," Stefan said quietly, his tone like steel.

    Immediately, Ivy''s eyes flickered, just for a moment, and Stefan saw it—the crack in the mask.

    Her body tensed, and she spun, breaking free from his grip.

    Rayna gasped, starting to run after her, but Stefan grabbed her arm. His mind was already racing, pieces clicking into ce.

    "If she''s here, dressed like Ruby… then Ruby—" his breath caught— "Ruby''s still in the fire. We need to save her. We can deal with Ivyter."

    Rayna''s eyes widened in horror. "No…" her voice trailed off.

    But Stefan was already running toward the source of the smoke and the shouts.

    Down another hall, Detective Walter and Ethan spotted Ivy as she was fleeing and looking around like some thief.

    "Ruby?" Ethan called out, relief and confusion mixing in his voice.

    She didn''t answer—just kept moving, ncing back over her shoulder like someone being hunted.

    Walter frowned. "If that''s Ruby, she should be looking for Stefan, not sneaking out of the hospital."

    They shared a look. Suspicion hardened in their eyes.

    Ivy pushed through a side door toward the exit—but before she could disappear, Ethan lunged, grabbing her arm. Walter was right there with him, forcing her back inside.

    She thrashed, but their grip was unyielding. Walter''s jaw was set like stone. "Just as I thought. Some nerves you have, Ivy."

    "How can you still show your face here after everything you''ve done?" Ethan asked shaking his head.

    Walter was about to say something when they saw firemen trooping in.

    "What''s going on?" Ethan asked confused, and then Ivy burst outughing.

    "They''re all toote," she said as she continuedughing like someone who''d gone insane.

    Meanwhile, Stefan and Rayna tore down the smoke-filled hallway, each step fueled by the same desperate thought.....

    Ruby is in there. And we''re running out of time.

    The smell of burning wood and melting stic filled Stefan''s lungs as he and Rayna approached the burning room.

    Smoke poured from the far end, thick and ck, stinging his eyes and burning his throat. The red emergency lights flickered above, casting everything in an eerie, panicked glow.

    "Ruby!" his voice cracked as he called her name, the sound nearly swallowed by the roar of the mes. His heart pounded like a drum in his chest, fear wing at him with every passing second. Somewhere in that smoke, somewhere in that fire… she was there.

    Rayna''s voice shouted behind him, "Stefan, wait! It''s too dangerous!"

    But Stefan didn''t wait. He couldn''t. Not when the woman he loved — the mother of his unborn child — might be trapped inside. He pushed forward through the choking smoke, squinting to see through the haze. Every breath felt like it scraped his throat raw, but he forced himself on, one step after another.

    The heat grew stronger the closer he got to the door at the end of the hallway. People tried to hold him back, stop him from going any further but he wouldn''t yield.

    He pushed through everyone trying to quench the fire and lounged forward. The metal handle was blistering hot when he grabbed it, but he didn''t care. With a grunt, he shoved the door open, smoke rushing out to meet him like a living thing.

    In that fire, he saw her.

    Ruby.

    She was still tied to the old hospital bed, her head lolling to the side, eyes shut. Her skin looked pale under the flickering light, her lips parted as if she''d been calling for help before the smoke stole her voice. The ropes bit into her wrists, and the sight made Stefan''s blood run cold.

    "Ruby… oh God." His voice trembled.

    Without thinking, he pushed into the fire despite the heat and smoke flowing out and in the blink of an eye he was by her side, coughing hard as the smoke wrapped around him.

    His fingers fumbled with the knots, desperation making them clumsy. "Stay with me, love… please stay with me," he whispered, his voice breaking.

    She wasn''t opening her eyes neither was she shaking. He tried as hard as he could to untie her while praying and hoping that nothing will happen to her or their child.