And for the first time in history—The Dominion was losing.Then, it happened.The screen glitched.Lisa’s fingers froze over the keyboard.The lights in the building flickered.Mike’s jaw clenched. “Something’s wrong.”A low, mechanical voice filled the room, coming from the overhead speakers.“Did you really think we wouldn’t anticipate this, Ethan?”Every door slammed shut.Locks clicked into place.The air felt heavy. Suffocating.Lisa muttered, “Shit.”Ethan’s smirk didn’t waver. But inside? His mind was racing.Mike pulled his gun, stepping to Ethan’s side. “Tell me you have an exit plan.”Lisa frantically hacked into the system, but every attempt was blocked. Firewalls, countermeasures—The Dominion had been waiting for this.Ethan exhaled slowly.They had walked into a perfect trap.He turned to Lisa. “How bad?”Lisa’s voice was tight. “Bad.”A map flashed on the screen—security forces were already moving toward them.Highly trained. Armed to the teeth.Mike cursed. “We need ano

The first Reaper moved fast—a blur of black against the flames.Lisa pivoted first. “Two o’clock.”Ethan fired—one precise shot.The Reaper dropped.Lisa exhaled. “That’s one.”Mike lobbed a flare into the open field.Light. Distraction. Misdirection.It worked.The Reapers hesitated—just for a second.Ethan seized the moment. They ran.They barely made it past the tree line when the real trap snapped shut.A figure moved from the shadows, fast, silent.A blade pressed against Lisa’s throat.Her gun was gone.Ethan turned sharply, gun raised—too slow.The Reaper behind Lisa tilted his head.And then?He leaned in.A whisper, so low Ethan barely heard it—“Your queen belongs to us now.”Lisa’s eyes widened.And in that moment of distraction—They struck.A blade flashed. Blood sprayed.Ethan fired. Twice.The Reaper staggered back.Lisa kicked out—hard.They broke free.But it was too late.The message had been sent.Lisa was now a target.They didn’t stop running.Not until they reach

Lisa’s location was still a ghost in the system.No ransom demands. No further messages.Just silence.And Ethan?He was done waiting.He turned to Malik. “We hit the heart of their operations next.”Malik’s brows furrowed. “Their New York hub?”Ethan nodded. “It’s where their financial brokers operate. We take it down, they lose billions overnight.”Mike sighed, rubbing his temple. “Ethan, if you do this, there’s no going back.”Ethan met his gaze. “I don’t want to go back.”Mike exhaled. “Alright. But you realize, the moment we make this move—”“They’ll send everything they have at us.” Lisa’s voice echoed in Ethan’s memory.He welcomed it.The New York operation was a fortress.Private security. Encrypted networks. Layers of protection.But nothing was impenetrable.Ethan’s team moved fast and mercilessly.Lisa had taught him that precision was power.And tonight?He was wielding it like a goddamn blade.Lisa would have smirked at his strategy—blitz attacks, coordinated strikes, an

Lisa didn’t stop.Not when Ethan dodged her blade.Not when his blood stained the floor.Not when he called her name.She was relentless, calculated, ruthless.Everything The Dominion had turned her into.But Ethan?He refused to fight her.Not like this.Not when he knew she was still in there.Lisa lunged again, her movements sharp, surgical.Ethan barely sidestepped in time. Her blade sliced across his shoulder, hot pain searing through him.Still, he didn’t strike back.Lisa’s eyes were dark, cold with manufactured purpose.But there was something else.A hesitation.A war fought behind her gaze.And Ethan?He was betting everything on that war.Lisa raised her knife again. “Fight back, Ethan.”Ethan exhaled, ignoring the pain.His voice was calm but firm. “No.”She faltered. Just for a second.Ethan saw it.Felt it.The spell was cracking.Lisa’s hands trembled.Her mind waged war against itself.The Dominion had tried to erase her.Tried to rewrite her.But Lisa wasn’t a soldier

Ethan sat in the dimly lit warehouse, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the cold steel of his gun. The room smelled of dust and rusted metal, but the air was thick with something else—vengeance.Tonight, the war truly began.Across the room, Malik slid a tablet across the table. “He’s at his estate. Surrounded by security. Cameras, guards, high-tech defenses. A fortress.”Ethan barely glanced at the screen. “It won’t be enough.”Mike leaned forward. “You sure about this? If we start picking them off, The Dominion will come at us harder than ever.”Ethan’s gaze was sharp, unwavering. “Good. Let them.”Aldrich Vaughn was a snake in a suit—a corrupt politician who had sold out his own people for power.More importantly?He was one of the architects of Lisa’s abduction.And tonight? He would pay.Ethan’s plan wasn’t just about killing him.That would be too easy.No, Ethan would destroy his empire first. Strip him of his power, his money, his influence.Then, and only then, would h