Chapter 51: Watcher at the EdgeThe photograph shook in Adrian's hands. Lena's face, innocent and unaware, captured by a predator. The red letters burned into his brain.Next time, I won't just watch.Lena pressed against him, her body trembling. "He was there. In town. Watching me."Adrian pulled her close, rage and fear mixing into something cold and focused. "He won't touch you. I won't let him."But even as he said it, he knew. Marcus Webb wasn't like the others. He didn't make threats he couldn't keep. The photo was proof. He'd been close enough to take it. Close enough to do anything.Inside, they gathered around the kitchen table. Rylan had maps spread out, showing the property, the town, the roads."He's playing with us," Rylan said. "Classic stalker tactics. Let the prey know they're being watched. Create fear, chaos, mistakes.""How do we stop him?" Mark asked, his voice tight."We don't. Not yet." Rylan looked at Adrian. "He wants you to react. To run, to hide, to come aft

Chapter 53: The Father's ConfessionThe compound was silent. Guards patrolled outside, their footsteps soft on concrete. Adrian lay in the dark, staring at his phone, waiting for a reply that didn't come.Should I trust him?He'd told Lena to hear Thomas out. But now, alone in the enemy's house, doubt crept in like poison.His father had held a gun to her head. Had worked for Webb for thirty years. Had killed Miranda. What explanation could possibly justify that?Hours passed. No reply.Adrian's mind spun worst-case scenarios. Thomas hurting her again. Webb's men finding her. The text being a trap.He couldn't stay here. Couldn't wait.He stood, moved to the door. Locked. Of course.But Webb had underestimated him. Three years of training doesn't fade in months.The lock was simple. He picked it with a paperclip in under a minute. The hallway was empty. He moved like a ghost, just like Silas taught him.The compound was a maze. He found a service exit, slipped into the night.Cold air

Chapter 55: The Morning AfterThe cabin was small, hidden deep in woods that had no name. They'd found it after walking all night, too tired to go further. Rylan knew the owner, an old friend who owed him. Safe, for now.Adrian sat on the porch as dawn broke, watching light creep through the trees. He hadn't slept. Couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his father's face, heard Webb's words, felt the weight of thirty years of lies.Lena found him there, wrapped in a blanket, coffee cold in his hands."You should sleep," she said softly, sitting beside him."I know." He didn't move. "Can't."She leaned against him, her warmth a small comfort in the cold morning. "What are you thinking about?""Everything. Nothing." He paused. "My mother. What he did to her. How I'm supposed to look at him now."Lena was quiet for a moment. "You don't have to decide today. Or tomorrow. Forgiveness isn't a switch."He nodded slowly. She'd said that before, months ago. It still felt true.Inside,

Chapter 57: The Calm BeforeThree months passed like a slow river.The cabin became home. Not the temporary kind, but real home. Lena's garden flourished, defiant against the mountain cold. Mark found work in a small garage in town, fixing engines and laughing with customers. Miranda visited every other week, bringing news of the empire's final dismantling.Thomas stayed. Not in the cabin, but close. A small house a mile down the road. Adrian hadn't forgiven him, but they talked now. Brief conversations. Awkward silences. The first steps of a journey neither knew how to walk.Silas recovered slowly. He stayed with them at first, then moved to a small apartment in town. He came for dinners, for walks, for quiet evenings by the fire. He never apologized again, and Adrian never asked. They'd moved past words.Rylan disappeared, as he always did. But postcards arrived regularly. Mountains. Oceans. Deserts. Always the same message: "Still watching. Still proud."Lawson visited once, bringi

Chapter 59: The Valley of BonesSmoke filled the valley. Gunfire cracked like thunder. People ran past, faces twisted with fear and purpose.Adrian pulled Lena behind a concrete barrier, his mind racing. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not here. Not now.Eleanor appeared beside them, blood on her sleeve, eyes fierce. "They came through the east tunnel. Cut off our escape.""How many?" Silas asked, limping up, gun ready."Too many. Dozens. Maybe more coming."Adrian looked at the people around him. Strangers, mostly. But they'd taken him in, offered shelter, asked nothing. He couldn't let them die."We need to draw them away," he said. "Give the others time to evacuate."Eleanor shook her head. "That's suicide.""Maybe." Adrian checked his weapon. "But it's the only play."Lena grabbed his arm. "I'm coming with you.""No.""Yes." Her eyes blazed. "I'm not hiding while you die. We fight together or not at all."He wanted to argue. But he saw her face, felt her grip. She meant it."Stay