A THREAT THEY DIDN'T SEE COMING...
Velena barely had time to react before Ceil was already moving.
His phone was out, his voice sharp. "How much time do we have?"
Lucian's expression was grim. "Not enough."
The room suddenly felt too small, the walls closing in around her. Velena's pulse pounded in her ears. Who else was after her?
She thought Alexander was the worst of it. But now… someone else was in the game.
And the part that terrified her most?
She had no idea why.
She wasn't just running from shadows anymore. She was running from something real. Something that had found her.
Something that wasn't going to stop.
A NAME THEY WEREN'T EXPECTING...
Lucian tossed a file onto the table, the papers sliding across the surface with a crisp rustle. "We intercepted a communication an hour ago."
Ceil grabbed the file, flipping it open. His gaze darkened.
Inside were grainy surveillance photos. A man, stepping off a private jet. Dressed in black. Walking like he owned the world.
Velena's stomach twisted the second she saw his face.
Lucian's voice was clipped. "Rafael Cain.
Silence.
Velena felt the blood drain from her face.
Her fingers curled into fists as a memory surged forward—a metal table, a surgical light overhead, the sharp sting of a needle.
Rafael Cain.
The man responsible for eliminating loose ends in Project Revenant.
The man who should have been dead.
Her voice barely scraped past her lips. "That's not possible."
Lucian exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah? Tell that to the guy who just landed in the city."
Ceil stayed quiet, his gaze unreadable. But Velena could see it—the shift in his posture, the way his fingers tightened slightly against the paper.
Lucian looked at her. "You know why he's here."
Velena swallowed hard. She wished she didn't.
Because there was only one reason Rafael Cain would return.
To finish what he started.
THE HUNT HAS BEGUN...
Ceil's jaw clenched as he shut the file. "How accurate is this intel?"
Lucian scoffed. "As real as it gets. This isn't some ghost from the past, Ceil. Rafael Cain is alive, and he's here."
Velena felt like the air had been sucked from her lungs.
She had spent years running from an enemy she couldn't even remember.
Now, he had found her.
Ceil let out a slow breath, his voice steady. "We need to assume he's already tracking us."
Lucian nodded. "Agreed. The second he stepped off that plane, we became targets.
Velena's heartbeat thundered in her ears. She turned to Ceil. "You really think he'll come after me?"
Ceil's gaze was sharp as a blade. "He's not coming after you, Velena."
A chill crawled up her spine.
"He's already here."
A MESSAGE LEFT BEHIND...
Lucian's phone buzzed. A sharp vibration against the silent tension.
His face darkened. "Shit."
Ceil took the phone from him. One message.
Unknown Number: Did you really think I wouldn't find you?
Velena's blood ran cold.
Ceil's voice was razor-sharp. "How the hell did he get this number?"
Lucian exhaled. "I don't know. But if he's contacting us directly, it means he wants us to know he's coming."
Velena's fingers tightened around the edge of the table. "He's playing with us."
Ceil smirked, but it wasn't amusement. It was lethal.
"Then let's play."
CEIL MAKES A DECISION...
Ceil didn't hesitate. "We're moving."
Velena blinked. "What?"
His tone left no room for argument. "If Rafael is here, then we're not staying."
Lucian was already grabbing his gear. "Agreed. I've got a safehouse lined up. It's outside the city, secure."
Velena took a step back. "This is insane. We don't even know if he's—"
Ceil's gaze snapped to hers. "You don't get it. If he's here, it means we're already running out of time."
Velena's breath caught.
This wasn't just strategy.
This was fear.
She had never seen Ceil afraid before.
And that terrified her more than anything.
THE ESCAPE BEGINS...
They left within the hour.
Lucian drove. Velena sat in the back. Ceil was silent beside her, his presence as sharp as a blade.
Velena stared out the window, the city lights flickering past.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
She had spent so long hiding. So long pretending the past couldn't touch her.
Now, it was coming for her with a name. A face. A purpose.
And deep down, she knew—
This was just the beginning.