Ayla’s eyes snapped open, her breath coming in sharp gasps as she sat up, disoriented. The world around her was pitch black. The sound of distant rumbling, like thunder, reverberated through the air, but there was no sign of the explosion she expected. She blinked several times, trying to focus. The last thing she remembered was the countdown, the door slamming shut, and then nothing.Her mind raced as she pushed herself to her feet, steadying herself against a cold metal surface. The walls around her were bare, smooth, almost clinical in their starkness. She felt the ground beneath her, a soft, rubbery texture that contrasted with the hard steel of the room.“Ayla?” Ezra’s voice, strained and hoarse, echoed from the darkness. “Are you okay?”Her heart skipped. “Ezra? Where are you?”She stumbled forward, her feet taking her deeper into the unfamiliar space. The sound of Ezra’s labored breathing was all she could hear in the heavy silence. She reached out, groping the air until her fi

The countdown clock above the main console ticked down relentlessly, its digital numbers glowing red like a warning of the inevitable. Ayla’s heart beat in time with each second, her mind racing as the weight of the situation settled on her. She had no backup. No way out. And Marcus was still pulling the strings, his laugh a haunting presence in the background.Dante’s eyes, cold and empty, locked onto hers, and for a moment, she was frozen. The man she had once known, trusted, and even loved was now a mere shadow of himself. A pawn in Marcus's game. The Dante she had fought alongside was gone. This Dante was nothing more than a weapon, a tool of destruction.Ayla’s fingers tightened around her weapon, the last tool she had to fight back, and she forced herself to step forward. The mission had changed. Now, it wasn’t just about stopping Marcus, it was about saving Dante.The glass that separated her from him felt like a barrier too thick to break, and yet, she couldn’t afford to wait.