Rain began to fall over City Z that night—soft at first, then loud enough to echo off the marble walkways of the Kay estate.
Lynn stood at her bedroom window, arms folded, eyes locked on the storm outside. She wasn't watching the weather.
She was watching the cameras.
She had activated every security feed connected to the estate after receiving that anonymous text—the one that threatened Alex's little sister.
"You picked the wrong game," she whispered.
Behind her, Serene sat on the bed, clutching the photo from the envelope.
"They followed him," she said quietly. "They were watching him days ago."
Lynn nodded. "This isn't about just me anymore. It never was."
A knock on the door.
Dianne entered, soaked and breathless.
"I came as fast as I could," she said, shaking out her umbrella. "Gallagher and Fanshia are in the car. We have news."
"Spill it," Lynn said.
Dianne held up her phone, showing a blurred photo of a transfer receipt—$100,000 wired from an unknown account into one under Jamy's name.
"He's being paid to frame Alex," Dianne said. "It's real."
Lynn's eyes darkened.
Serene stood. "Jamy isn't smart enough to do this alone. He's the puppet."
"And Suzie's holding the strings," Lynn muttered.
---
Down the hill in another part of City Z, Alex sat on his bed, fists clenched around the suspension letter.
Sam paced in front of him.
"This is crap," he muttered. "You didn't even touch that admin file."
"I know," Alex said. "But someone wants me out of the way."
Peter leaned against the door. "You and Lynn… you're a threat now. Not just to the school. To something bigger."
Alex stared at the ceiling.
"She said she'd handle it."
"Let her," Harden said from the corner. "If anyone can burn a system to the ground and walk out looking like a goddess, it's her."
Alex smirked slightly.
But worry still lingered.
He hadn't told them everything.
Like how someone had called his sister's school pretending to be a guardian.
How they'd asked her to wait outside alone.
He'd gotten there just in time.
But next time?
He wasn't going to leave that up to fate.
---
The next morning, Lynn walked into the Kay estate's private library—her father's sanctuary.
John Kay looked up from a thick leather-bound volume.
"I know about Suzie's accounts," she said.
He didn't respond.
"I know about the Zelar Group. About Jamy's bribes. About the fake file they pinned on Alex."
Still no reply.
"I need access to the estate vault," she said. "Now."
John finally closed the book.
"There are things in that vault not even your mother knew," he warned.
"She's dead," Lynn said coldly. "And Suzie is trying to finish the job."
He stood, walked to the fireplace, and pressed two panels in sequence.
A second hidden drawer opened—smaller than before.
Inside: a key. Gold, engraved with the Kay insignia and a snake coiled around a rose.
He handed it to her.
"You'll regret using this," he said softly.
Lynn met his eyes.
"I've already regretted not using it sooner."
---
The vault was three floors underground. No cameras. No staff. Just a long hallway lit by single, flickering bulbs.
The door was old. Heavy steel. Lynn slid the key into the slot and turned.
It clicked.
Inside: records. Evidence. Tapes. Weapons.
And files. So many files.
She pulled one from a dusty cabinet labeled "ZELAR-B."
Inside: documents linking Suzie to multiple offshore wire transfers. Blackmail. Targeting political families.
Lynn scanned one with Alex's name on it.
Targeted after proximity to LK-1. That was her.
She pulled the whole folder and left without looking back.
---
That afternoon, the group assembled at Peter's house—away from any Kay cameras.
Lynn spread the evidence across the dining table.
"This is war," she said. "But we're not going to fight like them."
Gallagher leaned forward. "What's the plan?"
"We don't just expose Suzie," Lynn said. "We collapse the whole network. The shell accounts. The bribes. Her grip on the board. Everything."
Fanshia whistled. "How?"
"We use her playbook," Dianne said with a grin. "But we write our own rules."
Peter and Sam exchanged looks.
"And Alex?" Sam asked.
"He doesn't know yet," Lynn said. "Not until it's safe."
---
That night, Lynn sent a single message to Suzie's encrypted number.
> You came for the wrong heart.
Attached: a photo of the vault key resting on top of the Zelar file.
Three minutes later, Suzie's private line lit up.
Lynn didn't answer.
She just smiled.
Because for the first time, they weren't reacting.
They were striking.