ws down rain-slicked streets. Isla sat silently in the back of Dominic's black SUV, the hum of the

clone of fear, anger, and something more com

ominic's voice broke through

nreadable in the dim light, but she saw the same f

was a warning. Whoever she's talking

"If Kane knows we're afte

without hesitation.

ty, one of Mara's contacts rumored to have ties deep within Kane'

trees, its windows dark and shuttered. Mara l

y entered a dimly lit room cluttered with maps and old files

weight of every name and location m

the easy part. The hard part

r, the kind of place where deals were whispered

featured, with eyes that missed nothing. He

said, voice low and rough.

ned, but she held h

lating. "I want to see Kane

a, his presence a silent w

long. And dangerous. You want to play this g

ovided. A pattern emerged - secret meetings, coded messages, a shadow

hreats, the betrayals - they were pieces of

eep. She wandered to the rooftop, the city

ng her a cigarette. She lit it, th

ng about her,"

she really was. And what s

"She was more than you kn

earching his face for a

e people in Kane's circle with masks no one can se

"You think someone cl

ze was sharp

to a knock at the door. Lu

. Someone's been ins

h dropped. "W

ad. "Not what - w

key to their next move, and now she was

. "She's alive. And she

ear. "Then we find h

s, and forgotten tunnels beneath the city. Each lead brought new dan

n that was tested when secrets from his past resu

t refuge in a rundown mo

out your connection to Eli

k with pain. "Because I

"Protection withou

. "Then break the c

and their very survival. The night pressed heavy around them as Isla and Dominic moved deeper into the city's underbelly, chasing sh

earpiece. "We're picking up movement nea

ed grimly. "

ination. The docks were a maze of rusted containers and forgotten m

d the distant crash of waves and t

ck of containers. Isla froze as a fi

she wh

re didn'

d his hand. "

orward - her face bruised

thed, relief floo

don't have much time. Ka

eside her. "Wha

om her jacket. "Everything Elias promised-an

mach churn

Dominic. "That's what

gged the flash drive into the laptop, watching as encrypte

nned the documents, each revelatio

was feeding Ka

fist on the table.

e. "Then we find the sna

meeting. Kane's inner circle. If

rkened. "Dangerou

trate the meeting disguised, with

n steeling herself, practicing calm, and

to an elegant black dress, her usual fier

a knot of anxiety tig

ul," she

ghost of her ol

nt penthouse, high above the cit

d, ears tuned to every word

the shadows nearby, ready t

e found something. Meeting is about an alliance-ne

raced. "Who

oo many. But there

ightened. "Kane'

act, the room er

s flooded in,

lar, whispering, "They k

r her breath. "E

e penthouse, guns drawn, mo

hey fought their wa

her own breathing, the pounding of her

g. We're al

in, washing away the blood

ra clutching the flash driv

house, they revie

o - Lorenzo, smiling coldly,

up. "Who is

s tight. "More tha

nights as the

, their bond growing deeper with eve

outside-they lurked within, t

g at a family photo - a woman, a littl

ut them," sh

. "My past I tried to bu

his hand. "We f

Isla realized love was their grea

colder as Isla stared at the photo Dominic had shown her-a worn, slightly faded picture of a woman and

asked again, her voi

"Her name was Elena. And

aught. "Why did

nted to protect you-from my past, from ever

tween them, filled only by

and with her fingers. "You're not alone anym

, vulnerable yet fierce

lve hardening in her gaz

s grip tightened like a noose, and th

ery ally, every word spoken. Para

urned from an errand l

aid, voice barely above a whisper. "

rdened. "Then we make o

"We expose

made, allia

of masks and mirrors, where every smile could

city, love and betraya

strongest w

the city in grey and shadow. Inside the safe house, Isla sat curled on the edge

se as he stared out the window. The revelation about Elena an

nd it," she said qui

ression unreadable. "You

I was afraid of the answers," she admi

side the couch. He reached out and bru

't just a mistake. She was my lesson in how love can be turned into a

to be." "No," he whispered. "I'm not. But Kan

't give him

rain dripping from his j

al District-goes by the name Memento. It's not just a front. They're recruitin

od. "That's

, expression grim. "He's

oo. "Then we

e-filled, loud with bass so deep it vibrated her bones. The crowd was th

, the silk clinging to her like sin. Dominic was beside her, every i

essing a small comm into her ear. "And don'

lways happy to

The club's interior opened into velvet-lined lounges and privat

balcony, watching them with

escending the stairs with theatri

ancers and liquor, I s

dened. "And who's

yes cold. "His partner.

ith unsettling interest. "Well,

. "Let's skip the posturing.

w. "That depends. Wh

"Because the next time we see

I like her. You sh

is-Kane's empire isn't crumbling. It's evolving. An

razor's edge. "Then maybe it's time

ors, a game of information traded f

ething big. A reshuffling of power. Names were being cross

with a smirk. "Not yet. He wants you hu

blood r

table. "We're running out of time. He's not going to w

ncrypted files. "The

ghost drop. A piece of fals

sla. "You sure you'

unflinching. "I

etween two abandoned warehouses. If the traitor bi

curity feed from the safe house. One by one, she

a

breath

eping to the server room, phone c

hit r

as already cornered, Dominic's gun d

warring in her eyes. "You don't und

ominic d

ps trembl

ed. "You were feed

f I didn't do what he said, he'd kill

aw clenched

bing. "Then do it. Kill me. B

oners. We're survivors. You'll help us n

y awake beside Domi

voice rough. "You were ri

e," she whispered. "Or w

. The storm was coming. And the