The warehouse erupted into motion. Grey and Lana moved instinctively, every muscle coiled for survival. The first intruders reached the crates just as the fog outside churned with headlights from approaching vehicles.“Split!” Grey shouted, grabbing Lana’s arm and pulling her behind a stack of wooden pallets. Bullets ricocheted off the metal beams above, sparks flying into the air.Lana pressed herself low, heart pounding. She could see the intruders now—four men in tactical gear, faces obscured by visors, each carrying identical pistols. They moved with precision, professional, but the hesitation that Grey had counted on was evident.“Take the left flank,” Grey muttered. “I’ll cover the exit.”Lana nodded, clutching the flash drive tightly. Every step she took was calculated, careful. Her mind raced with everything Seraphine had told her—the ledger, the instructions, the need to survive long enough to expose the truth.From the shadows, Grey fired first. A single shot, precise. One i

Rain had begun again, faint at first, then insistent, as though the city itself was urging caution. Grey and Lana crouched in the shadows of the West District archives, every nerve taut. The intruders were not just waiting—they were stalking, moving through the warehouse like predators that knew the terrain better than their prey.“Lana,” Grey whispered, keeping his hand on her shoulder. “We can’t hold this position forever. They’ll circle. We need a place to consolidate.”Her fingers tightened around the flash drive. “The upper floors,” she said. “There’s a room I saw in the blueprint files. Labeled ‘Echo Room.’ Nothing stored there, but plenty of visibility.”Grey’s brow furrowed. “Echo Room?”“Empty. But it’s ideal for control,” Lana explained. “We can see them coming. And the room’s layout… perfect for traps.”Grey nodded. “Then that’s our next stop.”They moved with careful precision, slipping through corridors lined with forgotten cabinets and long-abandoned filing boxes. Every

The intruder’s footsteps were deliberate, measured, each one striking against the concrete floor with a resonance that made the hairs on Lana’s arms rise. Grey’s gun was steady in his grip, his body coiled, ready to spring. Lana’s hands trembled slightly as she clutched the folders to her chest, the weight of the information inside heavy enough to make her feel grounded and terrified all at once.“Stay close,” Grey whispered, his eyes scanning every shadow, every angle of the room.Lana nodded, her mind racing. Every second since the files had been uncovered, every encounter with Havel’s network, had led to this—an inevitable confrontation.The intruder stepped fully into the light. A tall figure, hood shadowing the face, gloved hands gripping a firearm. Their posture was calm, too calm. Professionals never rushed. Professionals tested.Grey’s voice was low but firm. “You need to step away from the door. Now.”The figure didn’t move. Instead, the faintest tilt of their head suggested

The sirens were closer now — weaving through the streets in fractured echoes. Lana pressed her back against the cold wall, her heartbeat loud in her ears. Across from her, Grey was reloading his gun with mechanical precision, the faint metallic clicks underscoring the tension in the air.They hadn’t moved since Seraphine disappeared. It felt like even breathing too loudly might summon the chaos waiting outside.Lana spoke first, her voice barely above a whisper. “Do you believe her?”Grey’s eyes flicked up. “I believe she’s still three moves ahead of everyone.”“That’s not what I asked.”He sighed, holstering the weapon. “I believe she thinks she’s saving us. That’s what makes her dangerous.”Lana pushed away from the wall, pacing slowly. “She said the Foundation doesn’t exist anymore.”He gave a humorless laugh. “That’s what they always say — right before it resurfaces with a new name, new face, new agenda.”Her hands tightened into fists. “Then what’s the point, Grey? If it keeps co

The wind clawed through the night, tearing at Lana’s coat as she stood frozen at the edge of the pier. Waves crashed against the beams below, sending cold spray over her boots, but she didn’t move. Not even when Grey whispered her name.Seraphine stepped closer, her movements measured, like someone who’d rehearsed this moment a hundred times in her mind. The years had altered her face, drawing sharper lines along her cheekbones and leaving a faint scar near her jaw. But her eyes—those steady, knowing eyes—were exactly as Lana remembered them from the grainy photographs.“I thought you were dead,” Lana said quietly.Seraphine smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “That was the point.”Grey took a cautious step forward, his gun still in hand though lowered slightly. “You staged the fire.”“Correction,” Seraphine said, her voice calm against the roar of the sea. “I survived it. There’s a difference.”The wind blew her hair across her face as she looked between them. “You’ve both come