Ember had been discharged from the hospital after a day and was allowed to go home but she knew she would be kept under close observation by the police. She still couldn't believe everything that the investigation into Evan's disappearance had brought to light.

She wasn't lying when she said that Evan had edited her article and sent it for publishing in that morning's paper, she wasn't lying about going to his office and she certainly wasn't lying about being referred to Gotham Daily by him. But there was nothing except her word to back her claim up as every source the police had checked had led them to dead ends.

They still had no idea where Evan was or whether he was even alive or not.

And that state of unawareness made her feel terrible.

She came to the hostel and took her keys from the warden, going up the stairs to her room. She turned the key in the lock but checked that there was no one inside already as she stepped in.

After what had happened at Evan's house, she had gotten slightly paranoid about being taken away as well.

Confirming that there was no one inside, she breathed out in relief and locked the door, turning to go in and rest. However, a package dropped in the corner caught her attention that she hadn't seen before when she opened the door. It had probably been swept back by the door opening but now that she had closed it, the package was visible.

Cautiously, she bent down to see what it was and found no name or address on the small box. She should not open it, she knew as it could be dangerous. But curiosity got the better of her and she carefully sliced open the taping with the edge of her key.

She let the box sit for a few minutes, listening closely for any ticking sound but there was none. She was still eyeing it as if a predator would spring out of it but when nothing changed, she took in a deep breath to calm her racing heartbeat and lifted off the lid.

Inside were all the documents and the excerpts from interviews Evan had shown her earlier while discussing the story with her. It held his handwritten notes as well as the information she had shared with him.

Everything about that story was organized and packed inside that box.

Who brought that package to her room and why were questions she did not have any answers to. But as she looked further in, she found things that Evan hadn't shared with her. There were letters all bearing threats to stop proceeding with the story as well as some hastily scribbled notes from Evan where it seemed clear that he was panicked about being attacked.

So far, that package was the only evidence she could give to the GCPD as proof that she hadn't been lying. Evan Sinclair existed and was very much in danger.

Her phone started to ring and she saw that it was a call from an unknown number. A bit skeptical of answering it, she decided to see at least who was calling her.

"Hello?" She asked as there was silence from the other end, making her even more nervous about the entire situation.

"We assume you have our gift," a heavy voice sounded and she stilled, unable to recognize it.

"Who is this? What are you talking about?"

"Sinclair is in our custody," the man spoke again and she felt a shudder run down her spine, "if you dare to involve the police in this, we will kill him."

"But... But why do you have him? He has done nothing wrong, let him go."

A derisive chuckle sounded from the other end as the man spoke up, "let him go? And shall we pick you up in his stead because you are after all the one responsible for everything he has suffered till now, aren't you?"

"Please, let Evan go," she knew she did not have any other option but to negotiate with them. She didn't want Evan to die because of her, "I don't know who you are or why you have kept him but please, don't hurt him."

"Listen to this very carefully if you want Sinclair to live," the voice turned serious and she stilled, hanging on to every word, "you will drop the package off at the location we text you. And don't you dare to double-cross us. If anything goes wrong, we will murder him and you will never get to see his corpse even."

She was both anxious and worried about what they were doing to Evan, "can I please talk to him?"

"No. Do as we tell you to and we'll let him go after we've gotten our package," he remarked coldly, "step one toe out of line and he gets the shot."

She was caught in a catch-22 situation. That box held all the evidence the GCPD would need to take that case seriously and find Evan. But if she gave it to them, those gangsters would kill Evan and then come for her too.

She didn't know how the box reached her house but now that it was there, she had to pick one of the two options.

"Please don't hurt him," she mumbled, taking a tough decision, "I'll bring the package wherever you want me to."

"Good."

The call disconnected before she could ask anything and she sank down beside the wall, her head resting on her knees. She was stuck and there was no one she could reach out to for help.

The one person who had tried to help her was in captivity too and she was already feeling terrible about confiding in him and having him end up in such a terrible state. She had let go of her phone that was placed beside her on the floor and there was utter silence around her until a beep sounded.

A text from another unknown number was displayed on her phone and she clicked it open, it was a pin to the location she had to bring that box and hand it over in exchange for Evan being released. Right below that location pin was another text saying that they would send her the time the next morning.

She knew she couldn't trust the word of those gangsters. They could take that box from her and still not keep up their end of the bargain. And she also had no proof whether Evan had been killed already by them or not.

She was taking a huge risk but there was no other option.

Going to the GCPD could end up in a far worse situation.

Unaware to her, there was a third option but she hadn't yet thought in that direction. However, that third option was none other than the Bat vigilantes who were also keeping her under observation through Robin patrolling in the areas close to her workplace and hostel.

***