Chance was already on his feet, his mind racing. "Vinita. It has to be her. She was lingering near the library earlier. She must have heard everything."Wilfreda's face was pale, her voice trembling. "She took it. She's going to hand it over to Anaconda."Chance grabbed his coat, his movements swift and urgent. "We need to stop her. Now."The three of them moved through the estate, their footsteps urgent. Christopher checked the guest room—empty. The bed was made, the coat gone, the photograph of her mother no longer on the nightstand."She's already gone," Christopher said, his voice flat.Wilfreda's hands clenched into fists. "She wants to give it to Anaconda. That's the only reason she would take it."Chance sighed, his voice heavy with certainty. "She wants to save her mother. She thinks this is the only way.""We can't let that happen," Wilfreda replied, her voice sharp. "If Anaconda gets that drive, he'll have everything he needs to find the Codex."Chance pulled out his phone a

Chance and Christopher exchanged a glance—still raw, still wounded, but no longer at each other's throats. They had been played. Anaconda had used their pain as a weapon, and they had nearly fallen for it.Before either of them could speak, Anaconda moved. His men grabbed Vinita and her mother, dragging them toward the shadows. Vinita screamed, her voice desperate, her eyes wide with terror. "Chance! Please! Don't let them take me!"Chance's heart lurched. He lunged forward, his body moving before his mind could catch up, but Anaconda's men formed a wall, their weapons raised, their faces cold and unyielding. Anaconda stood at the edge of the darkness, his voice cold and triumphant, echoing through the warehouse like a death knell."You see, O'Connors? Your family has been divided for too long. But I can bring you together—just not in the way you'd hoped." He gestured to Vinita and her mother, now held firmly in his grasp, their faces pale with fear. "If you want to see them alive aga

Steven's gaze drifted to the floor, his mind clearly reaching back through decades of memory. When he spoke, his voice was distant, almost as if he were speaking to himself."The Codex... it started as just an idea in Helsin's mind. Back when we were at the university together. She used to stay up late, scribbling diagrams and theories in notebooks that she never showed anyone. She'd talk to me about them—about a way to push back the shadows, to protect humanity from something ancient and dark." He paused, a faint, wistful smile crossing his face. "I fell in love with her ideas, and I was proud of Julia for having her as her best friend. They were so strange, so impossible—and yet she believed in them with everything she had."Wilfreda's voice was soft. "That's why you got close to her."Steven nodded slowly. "Yes. I loved her mind, her passion. And then..." He trailed off, his cheeks flushing slightly. "One thing led to another which you already know about. Neither of us planned it,

Gerald sat hunched over his desk, his eyes scanning documents, cross-referencing names, dates, and signatures. The hours had blurred together, the coffee in his mug long gone cold.Chance and Christopher had returned, but he had promised to do a deeper digging to find out if there was actually any connection between Mr. Black, Blackwood and Anaconda.Ava appeared in the doorway, a fresh cup of steaming coffee in her hands. She crossed the room silently and set it down beside him, her hand resting gently on his shoulder."You've been at this for hours," she said softly. "Take a break."Gerald shook his head, his eyes never leaving the screen. "I can't. There's something here—I can feel it. I just need to find the connection."Ava pulled up a chair and sat beside him, her presence a quiet anchor. "Then I'll stay with you. Tell me what you're looking for."Gerald glanced at her, a flicker of gratitude in his tired eyes. "Blackwood, Anaconda, Mr. Black. They're all connected somehow. I ju

The news of Julia's resignation hit the political world like a thunderclap. Within hours, every major news outlet was running the story. Pundits debated the implications, allies scrambled for answers, and the opposition gathered in a private, windowless room in the Capitol to deliberate.Senator Aldric Vance sat at the head of the table, his face a mask of suspicion. He drummed his fingers on the polished wood, his eyes scanning the faces of his colleagues."She's resigning," Margaret Holloway said, her voice dripping with disbelief. "Just like that. After everything she's fought for."Vance leaned forward, his voice low and sharp. "It's a trick. It has to be. Julia O'Connor doesn't walk away from power. Not without a plan."Robert Cline nodded, his brow furrowed. "She's up to something. Maybe she's trying to divert attention from the scandal. Maybe she's planning to run again in the future."Margaret shook her head. "She's not that predictable. She's stepping down to protect her fami