The storm came at exactly 2:08 AM.
Lynn watched from her third-story bedroom window as movement flickered across the Kay estate's surveillance grid. Black-clad intruders moved like shadows—silent, precise, and terrifyingly familiar.
Alex's voice came through the burner phone. "I've got eyes on four. Southwest perimeter. No ID tags. They're inside the gates."
"Dad's team?" Lynn asked, barely above a whisper.
"Negative. These guys are ghosted. Sera-level stealth. Possibly Zelar-trained."
Lynn turned to Serene, who was typing furiously at her laptop. "Get the override command ready. Lock them in the west quadrant."
"Already on it," Serene said. "But there's a fifth target. He hasn't moved yet. Watching."
"Watching who?" Lynn asked.
Serene's eyes darkened.
"You."
---
At the same time, in the Kay estate's private security wing, John Kay stood beside his chief of staff, rewatching looped footage of the intruders entering through the East Gate.
"That keycard was cloned," he muttered. "You were right."
"And it wasn't just Sera," Serene added from behind. "We found two fingerprints matching someone else's profile."
"Whose?"
"Jamy," she said. "Mom's stepson."
The room froze.
John turned slowly. "My own—"
"He sold us out," Serene said. "And now they're coming for Lynn."
---
Across town, Alex was already in motion.
He sprinted down the back stairwell of the abandoned observatory tower where he'd been monitoring from a higher vantage point. Peter and Sam were waiting at the bottom, armed with encrypted comms and flashlights.
"Backup route B is clear," Sam said. "Gallagher's got drone eyes. Lynn's safe for now."
"But she won't be for long," Peter added. "Zelar's team doesn't miss. If they're here, they're here to silence something."
Alex's voice was low, dangerous. "Then let's give them something loud enough to regret."
---
Inside the Kay estate, Lynn moved through the darkened hallways, every sense sharp. She wore her mother's pendant—a hidden transmitter—tucked beneath her collarbone.
She wasn't just bait.
She was the battlefield.
"Where are they now?" she whispered.
Serene's voice came through her earpiece. "West hall, second floor. They think you're asleep."
"I won't be," Lynn said, stepping into position.
Then—
A creak behind her.
She spun—
And found herself face to face with Jordan.
"Jordan?" she hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came to warn you."
"You're in my house."
"I followed the intruders. I was watching your window when I saw them climbing the eastern wall."
Her hand moved toward the emergency alarm in her jacket.
"You can't be here."
"I had to be," Jordan said, stepping closer. "You don't know who you're dealing with. Sera's not working alone. And this isn't about jealousy anymore. It's about leverage."
"What kind of leverage?"
Jordan glanced at the pendant on her neck.
"Your mother knew something. And Zelar wants it erased."
---
Meanwhile, Sera sat in her bedroom—eerily calm.
On her phone screen, a silent video played on loop.
Lynn's mother, in an old security recording, speaking directly into the camera:
> "If this reaches you, then Zelar's hold has tightened. Trust only those who bleed for truth. Not those who speak it."
Sera smiled and whispered to herself, "And yet they think I'm the villain."
Pauline entered, confused. "What now?"
"Now?" Sera leaned back. "We watch them tear themselves apart."
---
Back at the estate, just as Lynn was about to question Jordan further, one of the black-clad intruders burst through the side hallway, weapon raised.
"GET DOWN!" Alex's voice roared from behind.
He tackled Lynn to the ground just as the weapon discharged—missing by inches.
Jordan ducked but didn't run.
Peter and Sam burst in from the opposite hall, smoke grenades rolling into the room. The attacker vanished into the cloud.
"Get her out—NOW!" Alex shouted, grabbing Lynn's hand.
Jordan stayed back, coughing, disappearing into the shadows.
As they ran down the emergency tunnel, Lynn glanced at Alex.
"You came," she said breathlessly.
"I always will."
Their hands were laced tight—fingers like a promise that wouldn't break.
---
Minutes later, in the Kay panic room, Lynn stood surrounded by her closest allies—Alex, Serene, Dianne, Fanshia, Peter, Sam, Gallagher.
"We can't wait anymore," Alex said. "They'll try again."
"We strike first," Gallagher said.
"And we start with Sera," Serene added.
Lynn nodded, eyes burning with fire.
"No more hiding," she whispered.
"This is war."
---
And the girl who once feared falling for her crush?
Was now preparing to lead an army.