The shipping container was filling faster now.Elena Chen pressed her face against the small air pocket at the top, salt water lapping at her chin. Her designer clothes clung to her body, and her perfectly manicured nails were already blue from cold.I'm going to die in here. And it's my own fault.The thought hit her harder than the icy Atlantic water. Through her fading System connection, she could sense Emma trying to reach her from hundreds of miles away. Emma's risking her life to save me. After everything I've done.Elena closed her eyes and let the truth wash over her like the rising water. The guilt she'd buried for three years finally surfaced."I killed them," she whispered to the darkness. "I killed my own family."The shipping container groaned as the ship hit another wave. Water sloshed higher, covering Elena's mouth briefly before receding. Maybe thirty minutes of air left, if she was lucky.Chen Mei-Lin from Hong Kong. Twenty-two years old, studying international law

Victor Chen was supposed to be in maximum security prison.Marcus stared at the news report playing on Sarah's facility monitors, his blood turning to ice. The breaking news ticker read: "MASS PRISON BREAK - 47 INMATES ESCAPE DURING COORDINATED POWER OUTAGE.""That's impossible," Emma said, her empathic abilities reaching out to confirm what they were both seeing. "Victor's been in solitary confinement for three years. How could he...""He never stopped planning." Sarah Voss's voice came from behind them, weak but filled with bitter satisfaction. "Did you really think arresting him would end this? Victor Chen doesn't give up. He evolves."Marcus spun to face the broken woman who'd tormented them for hours. Sarah sat in the corner, her children flanking her like disappointed guards."What do you mean, evolves?"Sarah's laugh was hollow. "Prison was just another chess move to him. Three years of recruiting inmates, guards, even wardens. Three years of building a network of people despe

The Chen family estate loomed against the storm clouds like something from a nightmare.Emma pressed her face to the helicopter window as they approached the Hamptons compound. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the sprawling mansion where everything had started years ago. Where Marcus had first learned about his inheritance. Where Victor had first tasted power and decided he wanted more."He's been busy," Elena said grimly, pointing at the modifications visible even from the air.Satellite dishes covered the mansion's roof like metallic flowers. Power lines snaked between buildings in patterns that hurt to look at directly. And everywhere, people moved with the blank-faced coordination of Victor's mind-controlled army."How many?" Marcus asked, his System already analyzing threat levels."Two hundred, maybe more," Emma replied, her Morrison empathic abilities cutting through Victor's mental interference like a knife through fog. "But they're not all controlled. Some are willing

Suddenly Emma stood in the kitchen of their new apartment, watching Marcus teach the youngest Chen cousin how to control her newly awakened System.Lily was only sixteen, the girl Victor had claimed was Emma's half-sister. DNA tests had proven that lie, but the girl's Chen bloodline was real enough. She'd been living in foster care for three years before Victor's people found her.Just like Marcus once did. Abandoned, forgotten, until someone decided she was useful."Focus on the feeling, not the result," Marcus was saying patiently as Lily struggled to lift a spoon with her telekinetic abilities. "Your System responds to intention, not effort."Emma smiled, still getting used to how quiet her mind had become. The loss of her empathic abilities had been devastating at first. For weeks, she'd felt like she was living underwater, unable to sense the emotions that had guided her for so long.But gradually, something else had taken their place. Not supernatural powers, but human intuition

"No. This is a rescue."Servants scattered as Marcus strode through the entrance hall. His enhanced senses were picking up something wrong with the mansion's layout. Too many blind corners. Too many places for someone to hide.Wei's been here for weeks, preparing this trap. He knows every inch of my home better than I do."At least take security with you!" Elena called as Marcus reached the grand staircase."No. This needs to be between Wei and me." Marcus stopped on the first landing, looking back at his cousin. "Elena, if something happens to me...""Don't. Don't you dare make this a goodbye.""If something happens, make sure Emma knows the truth about everything. The Morrison bloodline, the trance, all of it. She deserves to understand what's real and what was fantasy.""Marcus...""And tell her..." Marcus swallowed hard. "Tell her that every moment I spent loving her was real. Even when she didn't deserve it. Even when it hurt. Especially when it hurt."He turned and continued up