Jake Sullivan’s boots crunched against the broken concrete of the old subway tunnel, the echo bouncing like distant thunder through the cavernous space. The city above slept, oblivious to the war brewing beneath its feet, and the dim glow of his flashlight carved sharp slices through the darkness. His team moved with the practiced coordination of soldiers who had fought too many battles together to need words for every motion. Lyra’s eyes darted left and right, fingers occasionally brushing the walls as if she could read the metal and stone for hidden dangers. Kael’s steady breathing and tight grip on his rifle were reassurance enough—silent but absolute.They were following a lead from the transmission logs Jake had extracted from the communications hub, a trail that pointed to a facility far deeper underground than they had anticipated. It wasn’t marked on any maps, a ghost in the city’s forgotten arteries, yet the encrypted data made it clear that this was the heart of Soren’s newe

The boardroom was already buzzing by the time Cass, Nathan, and Liam approached the double doors. Low voices, the scrape of chairs, the jittering cadence of people who thought they were in control. Cass paused just outside, her fingers tightening around the folder in her hand.Nathan noticed immediately.“You sure?” he asked quietly.Cass didn’t look at him—she didn’t need to. She inhaled slowly, pressing down the tremor at the base of her ribs. “Yes.”Liam adjusted the cuff of his jacket, eyeing her with a sharpness that came from protective instincts he rarely admitted to. “You look like you’re about to take over a kingdom,” he said. “Which, technically, you are. So let’s go.”Cass almost smiled. Almost.Nathan opened the door for her.Silence fell like a dropped curtain.Every head turned. The room of polished wood, glass walls, and inherited arrogance went still as Cass stepped inside, shoulders squared, chin lifted. She didn’t hesitate.She took the seat at the head of the long t

Night settled over the Sullivan estate like a slow-moving tide, rolling in shadows through the corridors and softening every sharp corner. The world outside grew quieter, dimmer, but inside Cass felt more awake than she had all day. The weight of Marcus’s message—another letter—sat in her chest like a spark wrapped in velvet. Not heavy. Not painful. Just… significant.Nathan walked beside her as they made their way toward the study, silent but close enough that she could feel the warmth of him. Liam followed a few steps behind, his energy coiled and restless like a caged storm. Elise had offered to accompany them, but Cass asked her to wait. This moment felt too personal—too intimate—to be observed by anyone else.The long hallway leading to the study was dim, lit only by small sconces casting soft amber pools onto the carpet. Cass traced her fingers over the wood paneling as she walked. She remembered running through this corridor as a child, skidding across the polished floor, her f

The night air was heavy with tension as Jake Sullivan crouched atop the derelict rooftop, the city sprawled beneath him like a sleeping beast. Streetlights cast long, fractured shadows, and the faint hum of distant traffic mixed with the occasional siren, reminders that life continued unaware of the war brewing above it. Jake’s eyes scanned the horizon, the familiar weight of responsibility pressing on his shoulders. Every move tonight mattered, every decision had consequences, and there was no room for error.Lyra shifted beside him, her dark hair catching the dim light, eyes trained on the narrow alley below. “Drones are still active,” she whispered, pointing toward a rotating pattern of red glows. “Soren’s upgraded their sensors. He knows we’re coming.”Jake’s jaw tightened. He had anticipated this. Soren’s predictive algorithms had always been his greatest obstacle—anticipating attacks before they even happened. But Jake thrived in this tension. “Then we adapt,” he said quietly. “

Jake Sullivan moved through the ruined industrial corridor like a phantom, his boots barely making a sound against the fractured concrete. The faint hum of distant machinery echoed through the halls, a reminder that this district, abandoned by most, was still alive with Soren’s influence. Every step Jake took was measured, each movement calculated—not just for speed, but for survival.Lyra stayed close, her eyes darting to every corner, every shadow. She had been quiet since the last node raid, her mind clearly processing the data they had extracted. Kael brought up the rear, muscles coiled like springs, ready to react at the slightest disturbance. Jake knew their silence was not unease—it was focus. They were a single organism when it came to operations like this, each instinct complementing the others.Jake held up his hand, signaling a halt. Ahead, the massive steel doors of the secondary command relay loomed. The structure was fortified, bristling with sensors and surveillance equ