Damien showed the text to Torres immediately. His hand trembled as he held the phone out for her to read the threatening message from Believer 7.Torres took the phone and studied the text carefully. Her jaw tightened. "I'll start tracing this immediately but I already know it will lead nowhere. These people are too sophisticated."She handed the phone to a cyber specialist who began running traces and analyzing metadata. Torres turned back to Damien with serious eyes."We need to discuss options," she said. "This threat is credible. They just sent a professional assassin after Marcus. They're not bluffing."They moved to a conference room in the safe house facility. Torres pulled up files on her laptop while Damien sat across from her feeling exhausted."I suggest moving the entire family to a federal safe house indefinitely," Torres said. "You, Simone, Emma, Ashley, the twins, and Marcus all in one secure location until we identify

The panic room door opened with a heavy metallic sound. Torres stood in the doorway looking devastated. Her usual composure was completely shattered.Behind her, agents were restraining one of their own. A man in FBI uniform was bleeding from his shoulder. His hands were cuffed behind his back.Damien recognized him immediately from briefings. Agent Carson Miller. A fifteen-year veteran of the bureau. Torres stepped into the panic room and her voice didn't sound cheerful. "Miller has been feeding information to the Believers for weeks. Safe house locations, witness statements, surveillance operations. Everything."Simone gasped and pulled Emma closer. Ashley stared in shock. The twins had finally quieted but now sensed the new tension."He's Believer 4," Torres continued. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "He's been working for them from the inside."Damien felt rage building in his chest like a volcano about to erupt. This man had betrayed everyone. Because of him, Damien'

Torres flew to Prague within forty-eight hours. Agent Larry accompanied her as required by protocol. The flight was long and filled with strategic planning.Damien insisted on joining them despite warnings that it was too dangerous. He needed to face Volkov himself now that he knew the full truth about Marcus's betrayal.Simone begged him not to go but she understood why he must. "Promise me you'll come back," she whispered at the airport. Her eyes were red from crying."I promise," Damien said and held her tight. Emma clung to his leg not wanting to let go of her father again.The secure facility where they were staying was guarded heavily enough that Simone felt safe for now. FBI agents rotated shifts outside their doors every six hours.Emma stayed with her mother and Ashley while Damien was gone. She was unaware of the latest revelations about Uncle Marcus and his terrible choices.Ashley had taken time off from work to help with Emma. The little girl needed stability and familiar

FBI cyber specialists scrambled to identify and stop whatever malware Robert Carlos deployed. Computer screens glowed in the darkened command center as fingers flew across keyboards desperately.They traced his digital footprint to a server farm in Virginia within thirty minutes. The location was isolated in an industrial park surrounded by empty warehouses.But when agents raided it, they found the servers were rigged with physical explosives set on timers. Red digital displays counted down from forty-five minutes in a steady rhythm.The bomb squad was called in to disarm them while cyber teams tried to extract data before it was destroyed. Men in protective gear moved carefully around the wires and circuit boards.Torres realized Carlos had been planning this for weeks, maybe months. Every move had been calculated and every contingency prepared for.Every piece of evidence the FBI recovered was stored on networked systems that Carl

Kevin Gavin explained his plan while the command center listened with rapt attention. His voice was steady despite the pressure weighing on every word."I have been studying Robert Carlos's coding patterns for hours," Kevin said. "Every programmer has a signature. Signature means unique ways they structure code, favorite algorithms, repeated syntax."He pulled up screens showing lines of malware code. Kevin identified Carlos's signature throughout the malware. Specific patterns that appeared again and again."If I can predict how Carlos generates encryption keys based on that signature, I might be able to recreate the key without his cooperation," Kevin explained.Torres leaned forward. "How likely is this to work?""Honestly?" Kevin adjusted his glasses. "It is a long shot. Encryption keys are designed to be impossible to guess, but Carlos's ego left breadcrumbs I can work with."He pointed at specific code structures. "He