Marcel stared at the photo on his screen, his thumb tracing the sharp border of the image. Lily sat on the edge of the velvet sofa, a glass of water in her hand, completely unaware of the camera. The angle was elevated, pinned from the corner near the crown molding.He tapped his ear piece. "Benton. Where is Lily right now?""Living room, sir," Benton’s voice cracked through the receiver. "West wing. Guards are posted at both doors.""She hasn't left the penthouse today?""No, sir. Not once."Marcel closed his eyes, a cold knot tightening in his chest. The photo had been taken inside his home. The person who sent it didn't just have a lens on him; they had access to his internal network.He slid the phone into his coat pocket and turned toward the hallway. Aurora was leaning against the marble counter, watching him with quiet, sharp eyes. She noticed the slight shift in his posture before he even spoke."What happened?" she asked."Nothing you need to worry about," Marcel said, keepin

Marcel’s hands shook as he held Lily’s shoulders, the blue light of the System interface reflecting in her wide, panicked eyes."Say no, Lily," he said, his voice raw. "Whatever it's showing you, it’s a lie. Reject it."Lily pulled back, wiping a hand across her wet cheeks. "Why do you get to decide that? You've been using this thing for months, taking whatever it gives you, and now it offers me something I've missed my whole life and you tell me to turn away?""Because it takes something back every single time!" Marcel shouted, the sound echoing down the narrow alleyway. "Look at me! You think I'm the same person I was six months ago?""What did it take from you then?" she demanded, her jaw trembling. "Tell me!"Marcel froze. The words caught in his throat. He couldn't tell her about the cold thrill he felt when he crushed his father's old lenders, or the satisfaction that came with absolute control. Admitting how much he liked the power would terrify her more than the System ever co

Gunfire tore through the ceiling, raining drywall down onto the rug."Under the desk!" Marcus yelled, kicking aside a rug to reveal a rusted iron hatch set into the floorboards. "It leads to the drainage tunnel!"Marcel grabbed Lily by the waist, shoving her toward the opening. "Get down there! Now!""What about you?" Lily gasped, clutching her shoulder."I'm right behind you," Marcel said, drawing his weapon and firing two rounds through the smoke at the hallway door.Aurora shoved Marcus into the crawlspace and dropped down after him. "Don't be a hero, Marcel! They aren't here for a firefight with you. They brought heavy gear specifically to capture Lily!"Marcel cursed under his breath and dropped into the damp, narrow tunnel, pulling the heavy hatch shut above them. The muffled sound of boots crashing onto the floorboards echoed from above. They sprinted through the dark, cold mud until the tunnel emptied into a rocky ravine

Marcel stared at the security monitor, replaying the twelve-second video loop for the fourth time. The man on the screen moved with deliberate slowness, looking straight into the lens before pulling down his hood."He knew where the camera was," Marcel said, his thumb hovering over the spacebar. "He didn't miss it. He wanted me to see his face."Marcus reached over to adjust the contrast on his screen. "If he's still in the local grid, I can track his cellular ping in ten minutes.""No," Marcel said, closing the laptop screen. "He's three steps ahead because someone in this room keeps handing him our location. Hand over your phones. All of them."Aurora scoffed, pulling her burner phone from her tactical vest and tossing it onto the metal table. "I've taken a bullet for you twice this week, Marcel. Don't start acting like your father."Olivia backed toward the doorway, her hands tucked deep into her coat pockets. "I've lost my job, my apa

Marcel stared at the illuminated screen, his knuckles white against the metal table. In the photograph, his mother sat across from Lucifer Cain, her hands resting calmly beside a bone-china teacup."She wouldn't," Lily whispered, her voice cracking. "She hated him. She spent her whole life running from him, Marcel. She wouldn't just sit down and have tea with him!"Marcel didn't offer a defense. He pulled the image closer, his eyes cold and hollow. "I stopped assuming anyone in this family was innocent three files ago."Aurora leaned over his shoulder, her sharp eyes scanning the edges of the frame. "Look at their hands. Neither of them is smiling. Look at Cain's posture. His shoulders are rigid. This isn't a meeting between partners. It's a negotiation."Marcus tapped away at his laptop, re-running the metadata protocols. "The file wasn't created three days ago. It was uploaded three days ago. The actual image date was stripped, but the lighting profile matches hardware from ten year