Chapter 31The dead woman on Ethan's doorstep had been dead for twenty years, which made her arrival all the more troubling.Ethan found her at dawn, sprawled across the welcome mat of their new safe house in the Pacific Northwest. She was dressed in clothes that belonged to another era—a floral dress, worn leather sandals, a silver locket around her neck. Her skin was pale, her eyes closed, her hands folded neatly across her chest as if she'd been laid out for viewing.But it was her face that made Ethan's blood run cold.He'd seen that face before—in old photographs, in faded memories, in the stories his mother had told him late at night when she thought he was asleep.It was his grandmother. Evelyn Carter. Dead for two decades."Liv," he called, his voice barely above a whisper. "Liv, get out here."Liv appeared in the doorway, still in her pajamas, her hair mussed from sleep. She took one look at the body and froze."Is that—""Yeah." Ethan knelt beside the body, his hands trembli

Chapter 33The mountain vault held more than just the weapon—it held the truth about everything Ethan thought he knew.They'd been in the vault for three days, cataloguing its contents, when Liv made the discovery that would change everything. She'd been working through a stack of old documents, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, when she suddenly went still."Ethan," she called, her voice strange. "You need to see this."Ethan crossed the room, his heart already pounding. Liv was holding a folder—thin, unremarkable, its edges worn with age. But the photograph clipped to the front made his blood run cold.It was a picture of his mother. Young, smiling, her arm around a man he didn't recognize. But it wasn't the man who caught his attention—it was the building behind them.The Reynolds Dynamics headquarters. But not the one he knew. This was an older version, smaller, more modest. And above the entrance, a sign read: "Reynolds Dynamics—Founders' Wing.""Founders," Ethan repeated. "There w

Chapter 35The vault's alarms screamed at 4:47 AM, and Ethan woke to the smell of smoke.He was on his feet before his eyes fully opened, his hand finding the weapon he kept beside the bed. The corridor outside his room was filled with chaos—Elena's team running, shouting, the sound of gunfire echoing through the mountain."They found us," Liv gasped, appearing at his door. "Victor's people. They're inside the perimeter.""How many?""Dozens. Maybe more. They came through the lower tunnels—someone gave them the schematics."Ethan's blood ran cold. "Kara.""She's gone. Her quarters are empty. So is Helena's."The betrayal hit him like a physical blow. Kara had been playing them from the beginning—the infiltration, the intelligence, the sob story about her father. It had all been a setup."Get Mom," Ethan ordered. "Get everyone to the extraction point. I'll hold them off.""Ethan—""Now, Liv."She ran, and Ethan turned to face the corridor. The first wave of attackers appeared—armed, pr

Chapter 37The scream came from the nursery, and Ethan was moving before his eyes fully opened.He'd been dreaming of the wedding—of Lucia's smile, of Amara's tears, of a peace that felt almost too fragile to hold. The scream shattered it all, dragging him back to reality with brutal efficiency."Liv!" he shouted, his feet pounding against the hardwood floor. "Liv, what's happening?"He burst through the nursery door and stopped dead.Liv stood in the center of the room, her face pale, her hands trembling. The crib was empty. The blankets were tossed aside, the mobile still spinning from the motion of someone being taken."She's gone," Liv whispered. "Someone took her."Ethan felt the world tilt beneath him. "Who? How?""I don't know. I just—I heard a noise, and when I came in, she was gone." Liv's voice cracked. "The window was open. There were footprints in the snow."Ethan was at the window in seconds, his eyes scanning the darkness. The footprints led away from the cabin, toward t