The executive elevator slammed open.
Lucien tensed.
Security should've arrived.
Instead, a figure in black tactical armor stepped out—face covered, movements silent.
Aria's breath hitched. She knew that mask.
Not who wore it.
But what it meant.
He was one of them.
Lucien was already moving. He shoved Aria behind the desk and ducked beside her just as a silenced shot shattered the glass behind them.
"You brought them here," he snapped.
"I didn't!" she cried, heart thundering. "You don't understand—"
"I don't need to understand," he growled, pulling a hidden weapon from beneath the desk. "I just need to get us out alive."
He rose from cover, eyes cold steel, and returned fire.
---