Elias stood by the wide window of his office, the cityscape sprawling before him like a living, breathing beast. The night air pressed against the glass, heavy with rain and the faint hum of distant sirens. The digital map projected softly onto the windowpane flickered with the pulse of ongoing battles: supply routes blinking, union meeting spots highlighted, and markers for known Roarke operations glowing ominously.Despite the data streaming in from every corner, the weight pressing on Elias’s chest was less about numbers and more about trust.He spun away from the window as Lena entered quietly, her eyes sharp despite the fatigue etched across her face. Marcus followed close behind, his usual confidence tempered by exhaustion.“We’ve got trouble,” Marcus said bluntly, dropping a folder on the desk.Lena unfolded the papers, revealing a series of intercepted messages. “Roarke’s not just trying to cut us off anymore. He’s going for our allies. These are communications between his peo

Elias sat still in the dim light of the war room, the glow of monitors flickering against his face. The threat had come through a scrambled voice message—no face, no location, just a calm, clipped sentence:“You’ve crossed the line, Elias. Now I erase you.”No mistake who it was.Roarke had stopped pretending.Around him, Lena and Marcus were already moving, locking down communications, encrypting internal systems, and initiating new security protocols across KaneTech’s core operations.“We need to assume everything’s compromised,” Lena said. “Personal phones, cloud drives, even our secure satellites. Roarke’s escalation means one thing: he’s ready to burn everything, even himself, just to bury us.”Elias stood, dragging a hand through his hair. “Then we let him try. But we stay ten moves ahead.”Marcus leaned over the central console, pulling up new data streams. “We’ve got protestors outside the Capitol Building this morning. Union workers, teachers, hospital staff — the blackout tu