TEN YEARS AGO.Kai was eighteen and waiting up when his mother came home at almost midnight. He sat at the kitchen table with his chemistry textbook open, though he hadn't turned a page in the last hour. The house was quiet except for the hum of the refrigerator and the distant sound of Julie sleeping upstairs.When the front door opened, Eleanor Cross looked exhausted in a way Kai had never seen before. Not just tired from a long day, but worn down, like something heavy was pressing on her shoulders. She dropped her briefcase by the door and didn't even take off her coat before heading to the kitchen."You're up late," she said, attempting a smile that didn't reach her eyes."Studying," Kai lied. "Big test tomorrow."Eleanor poured herself a glass of water and drank it standing at the sink, staring out the window at nothing. Her hands were shaking slightly, enough that Kai noticed."Mom, are you okay?""Fine, sweetheart. Just a long day."Before Kai could press further, Eleanor's pho

The rooftop was cold and exposed, the wind cutting through Julie's jacket as she stood where the helicopter had disappeared into the darkness. The city sprawled below them, lights twinkling like they belonged to a different world entirely. Up here, with three dead Protocol Black operatives bleeding onto the concrete, it felt like she'd stepped out of normal reality into something darker.Nadia Volkov stood ten feet away, rifle still slung across her back, watching Julie with an expression that was hard to read. Calculating, maybe. Or just tired."You said my father ordered this," Julie said, breaking the silence. "Marcus Blackwell. Why?""Because Kai served his purpose," Nadia replied. Her voice was steady, matter-of-fact. "Marcus used him to destroy the Sterlings. The frame-up, the corporate warfare, the public scandal—all of it weakened Helen Sterling exactly the way Marcus wanted. Now that the job's done, he wants Kai controlled. Or eliminated."Julie's phone rang in her pocket. Sh

The abandoned warehouse on the mainland looked like it had been forgotten by time itself. Broken windows let in streams of early morning light that illuminated dust floating in the air like snow. The concrete floor was stained with oil and marked by the ghosts of machinery long since removed. But it had what they needed—privacy, space, and enough distance from any active police presence that they could plan without interruption.The rescue team had assembled in what used to be the foreman's office, a raised platform that overlooked the main floor. Reece stood with his arms crossed, his jaw tight with barely suppressed tension. Lila paced back and forth like a caged animal, unable to sit still. Julie leaned against the wall, her eyes red from crying but her expression determined. And Nadia spread detailed schematics across an old metal table, weighted down at the corners with whatever debris she'd found nearby."Security is military-grade," Nadia said without preamble, her finger traci

The stolen Coast Guard vessel cut through the dark water at precisely 0545 hours, its approach timed to coincide with the shift change that Nadia had identified in the facility's security protocols. Reece stood at the helm, his hands steady on the controls despite the weight of what they were about to attempt. Behind him, Julie methodically loaded weapons with the focused intensity of someone who'd learned that hesitation could mean death. Lila sat hunched over the facility schematics spread across a metal table, committing every corridor and checkpoint to memory one more time.Nadia stood apart from the others, perfectly composed in a tailored Blackwell Industries business suit that transformed her from sniper to corporate inspector. She looked like she belonged in a boardroom, not on a rescue mission to an offshore black site.Dawn was breaking over the eastern horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink that seemed almost obscene given what they were about to do. The off

The new safe house was a nondescript apartment in a building that asked no questions about cash payments or false names. A field medic had come and gone, leaving behind fresh bandages on Kai's shoulder and strict instructions about rest that everyone knew would be ignored. Kai sat on the edge of a worn couch, his arm in a sling, exhaustion carved into every line of his face.Julie paced the small living room like a caged animal, her footsteps marking an angry rhythm on the hardwood floor. "Reece and Nadia—we just left them there. We don't even know if they're alive."Lila sat in a chair across from Kai, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "We don't know yet. Nadia's resourceful. Reece is trained. Maybe they found a way out, maybe they—""We left them," Julie interrupted, her voice cracking. "We got in the helicopter and we flew away and we left them to die."Kai's voice was quiet but steady. "They stayed so we could leave. That was the play. That's what they chose."Julie whirled on