02:37 AM – Ravenport, Old Industrial District
Blood still dripped from Damien's side as he descended the steel stairs into the warehouse Cassian had marked as "the final fallback"—a place once used for hostage transfers, black-market trades, and… traps.
Elara followed silently. Her eyes never left Damien's back—heavier now, not just with wounds, but with the weight of choices slowly rotting from within.
"Damien, wait," she whispered. But he didn't turn.
Below, the warehouse was empty. Too empty.
Then came the sound of applause.
Slow. Mocking.
Cassian Rhys stepped out from behind a steel pillar, his smirk half-amused, half-mocking.
"Two birds, one bullet," he said. "Or… two corpses, one message."
Elara moved forward. "What are you talking about, Cassian?"
Damien already knew.
He pulled Elara back—but too late.
BANG.
A gunshot cracked from the catwalk above. Not aimed at Damien.
It hit Kit.
Kit had just entered through the back door, carrying a laptop with the final encryption key to The Veil's system.
He dropped. Dead.
Cassian looked down at the body, a satisfied gleam in his eyes.
"I always knew he sold me out during the Caracas mission. Now it's settled."
Damien's voice was ice. "You used us. This wasn't about justice. It was revenge."
Cassian shrugged. "You thought this was about saving the city? Wrong. This is survival. And in this world, there are two kinds of people—those who stab, and those who bleed."
Elara gritted her teeth. "You're no better than The Veil."
Cassian smiled. "No. I'm worse. Because I don't pretend to be a hero."
BOOM.
An explosion rocked the warehouse wall. Sirens. Floodlights.
They'd been found.
Cassian vanished into the smoke like a ghost.
---
03:12 AM – Ravenport Streets
Damien drove in silence.
Elara sat beside him, cradling Kit's lifeless hand. Her tears had stopped. Only the wreckage of anger and grief remained.
"How many more have to die for this?" she whispered.
Damien didn't look at her.
"Until everything burns."
---
04:03 AM – Hidden Server Room, Ravenport Underground
Damien slotted in the final drive.
The Veil's system unlocked—layer by layer, file by file. Corrupt politicians, corporate elites, high-ranking officers.
Everything was exposed.
But Damien didn't smile.
Because on the final screen, a video auto-played.
A recording from six years ago.
A young Elara—terrified, seated across from Dr. Liora Vale.
"Join us, Elara. Or we'll make your brother… disappear."
Elara's face turned pale. Her hands trembled. The video ended.
Damien turned slowly toward her.
He stood at the edge of a choice: trust her, or destroy her.
"Elara… did you know about this?"
Tears welled in her eyes.
She whispered, "I thought… I'd forgotten."
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To Be Continued…
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