The storm battered the safe house, its relentless winds howling like ghosts, rattling the window panes as if trying to force their way in. Gabriel stood in the dimly lit kitchen, gripping a half-empty glass of whiskey. His thoughts were as turbulent as the weather outside. The revelation of Amara’s existence had shaken him to the core, unraveling years of carefully constructed walls.Across the room, Natalia leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed, eyes sharp but filled with unspoken concern. She hadn’t said much since Levi had shown them Umbra’s message. She didn’t need to. Gabriel could feel the weight of her questions pressing against him like a vice.“Who is she to you?” Natalia finally broke the silence, her voice steady but tinged with something he couldn’t quite place—jealousy? Fear?Gabriel swirled the amber liquid in his glass, his gaze distant. “She was my fiancée.”Natalia’s breath hitched, though she quickly masked her reaction. “You never mentioned her.”“I didn’t

The night air was thick with the scent of rain-soaked earth as Gabriel sat alone on the balcony, the distant sound of crickets filling the silence. The others had gone to bed, but sleep eluded him. His mind was a whirlpool of memories and plans, a tangled web of past regrets and future uncertainties. In his hand, he held an old photograph, Amara, smiling under the golden light of a summer’s day, her laughter almost audible through the image."Still haunting yourself with the past?" Natalia’s voice broke the silence as she stepped onto the balcony, her arms crossed.Gabriel tucked the photograph back into his pocket, his expression unreadable. "Some things are hard to forget."Natalia leaned against the railing, her sharp eyes studying him. "You’re not just fighting Umbra, are you? You’re fighting yourself."He didn’t respond immediately, his gaze fixed on the horizon. "Amara’s caught in this because of me. I need to make it right.""You won’t do her any good if you let your guilt cont

The faint glow of the moon filtered through the dense canopy of trees as the group maneuvered their way through the forest. The safe house was compromised, and now they were fugitives, hunted by a force that seemed to have eyes everywhere. Gabriel led the way, his mind racing as he tried to piece together the fragments of betrayal and secrets that had unraveled over the last few days.The tension was palpable. Levi kept glancing at his tracker, muttering updates about Umbra’s pursuit. Natalia walked silently, her eyes darting to every shadow, her hand resting on the hilt of her knife. Amara, though visibly shaken, stayed close to Gabriel, her resolve unyielding.“We can’t keep running forever,” Natalia finally said, her voice cutting through the silence.“We’re not,” Gabriel replied firmly. “But we need to regroup and plan. Umbra won’t stop until we’re dead or silenced.”Levi stopped abruptly, squinting at the screen of his tablet. “There’s an abandoned military bunker about five mile

The tension in the air was palpable as the team regrouped in their Istanbul safe house. The dimly lit room felt smaller than before, each shadow stretching long and ominous across the cracked walls. Gabriel stood at the head of the table, the decrypted files spread before him like the remnants of a broken puzzle. His face betrayed no emotion, but his clenched fists revealed the storm brewing within.Amara leaned against the wall, her sniper rifle resting beside her. “So, what now?” she asked, her voice calm but tinged with frustration. “We’ve got the evidence. Let’s blow this operation wide open.”Gabriel shook his head. “It’s not enough. These files… they’re just the tip of the iceberg. There’s something deeper, something Ayla hinted at. She said we’re fighting a battle we can’t win.”Levi, seated at the far end of the table, adjusted his glasses and tapped away on his laptop. “She’s not entirely wrong. From what I’ve uncovered, Umbra’s influence goes beyond trafficking and weapons d

The team had barely caught their breath when the tension in the safe house spiked. The Serpent’s Fang rested on the table, its eerie green glow casting flickering shadows across the walls. Gabriel studied it intently, his expression unreadable.“What now?” Amara asked, her voice low but firm. “We can’t just keep it here. Umbra will stop at nothing to retrieve it.”“We take it apart,” Levi suggested, his fingers itching to examine its inner workings. “If we can figure out how it works, we’ll have the upper hand.”Ayla shook her head. “That’s not an ordinary weapon. It’s tied to Umbra’s core operations. You tamper with it, you risk triggering something catastrophic.”Gabriel sighed, his thoughts churning. “We need to decide fast. Umbra won’t give us much time.”As dawn broke, Levi delved into the weapon’s complex coding, his laptop hooked to the Fang through a series of makeshift cables. The others kept watch, their nerves stretched thin. Hours passed, tension thick in the air.Then, Le