POV: Ethan ColeMarcus's fingers were flying across the keyboard at 3 AM when he suddenly stopped."Got it," he said. "Seventy percent recovery. The rest is corrupted but this is enough."I looked at the screen. Rows of financial data. Transaction records. Shell company formations. Everything Marcus had been building for months before Daniel's hacker torched it."Enough for what?" Maya asked. She'd been awake as long as we had, running on coffee and rage."Enough to bury Morrison," Marcus said. He pulled up a spreadsheet. "Cross-reference this with your physical evidence. My financials prove embezzlement. Your documents prove falsified drug trials. Ethan's system stuff proves Senator Cross covered it all up."My system stuff. That's what we were calling it now.The three of us spent the next four hours building the case. Marcus organized financial records showing Morrison moving money through fake companies. Maya matched those transactions to dates when drug trials were being falsified

POV: Maya SantosMy hands wouldn't stop shaking as I poured water in the kitchenette.Morrison was arrested. Victoria was on our side now. Catherine, Ethan’s mother was safe at Ashford Medical Center. We'd won. Sort of. So why did I still feel like shit?Marcus was spread out on the couch memorizing his fake work history. "Five years with Ashford Industries," he muttered to himself. "Started as junior analyst, promoted to senior in year three..."What a weirdo.Ethan sat at the table staring at his table, reading Victoria's contract, probably. The blue light made his face look tired as hell.I'd spent the last three weeks thinking of Ethan as just some guy with useful skills and a magic system thing in his head who could help me nail Morrison. That was it.But seeing his reaction tonight when he heard his mother was finally safe made my chest feel weird. Something about it just hit different.And for fucks sake, I hated that feeling. I'd survived foster care and law school and eight m

POV: Ethan ColeI stared at Maya's phone for a solid minute before my brain processed what I was seeing.The threatening message. The photo of us leaving Victoria's penthouse."It's a trap," I said. Stating the obvious but needing to say it out loud."Obviously," Maya agreed. "But it's also possibly the only chance I'll get to confront Morrison before he disappears or Cross protects him."She was right. But rushing into an obvious trap was how people died.The system flashed across my vision.[ALTERNATE MISSION AVAILABLE] [TARGET: MARTIN ASHWORTH] [CORRUPT BOARD MEMBER - VULNERABILITY DETECTED] [REWARD: COOPERATIVE WITNESS + $50,000] [TIME LIMIT: 24 HOURS]I blinked and focused on the details.Martin Ashworth. One of the three board members Morrison had named. Family values conservative who gave speeches about traditional marriage and Christian ethics.Also had a mistress in a luxury apartment downtown.The system was offering me a different play. Flip a board member instead of wa

POV: Maya SantosThe sync was the only reason I didn't die in the first thirty seconds.I could see everything. Every attacker's position. Their firing angles. The exact moment they'd have clear shots at us.And somehow I knew how to move. Ethan's combat training was flooding through the connection, teaching my body things I'd never learned. How to duck. Where to run. How to read an enemy's posture and know what they'd do next.It was insane and perfect at the same time.Run, Ethan's voice said in my head. Maintenance building. Now.We sprinted across the cemetery.Bullets chewed up grass and headstones behind us. The paralegal part of my brain was screaming that I wasn't trained for this, that I was going to die.But Ethan's mental voice cut through the panic. Trust your body. The sync is guiding you. Move when I move.And I did.We reached the maintenance building just as gunfire intensified behind us.I pressed my back against the brick wall, breathing hard. My heart was pounding s

POV: Ethan ColeI drove across the city like I was running from the cops.Normally thirty minutes to Ashford Medical Center. I made it in eighteen.Maya sat in the passenger seat, her presence steady through the sync even though neither of us spoke. I could feel her trying to project calm. Trying to keep me from spiraling.It wasn't really working but I appreciated the effort.The medical center looked more like a luxury hotel than a hospital when we pulled up. Exactly what Victoria had promised. I left the car in the emergency lane and ran inside.A nurse at the front desk tried to stop me but I just kept moving toward the ICU. She must have called ahead because a doctor was already waiting at the entrance, called herself Dr. Sarah Chen."Mr. Cole," she said. Her expression was carefully neutral in that way doctors have when they're about to tell you bad news. "Your mother exhibited increased neural activity about three hours ago. We've been monitoring closely.""Is she awake?" I ask