London – Underground Vault, 03:00 A.M.
The vault doors sealed with a hiss. Damian stood in front of an ancient server rig known only to four people in the world-two of whom were already dead.
Selene entered without a word, handing him a biometric key. "Access is confirmed. The Black Channel is live."
"Any trace of us?"
"Scrubbed and masked," she replied. "And the decoy files were delivered to the Reyes Foundation two hours ago. If she opens them..."
"She won't know what's real anymore," Damian finished with satisfaction.
He stared at the interface. A dozen encrypted threads flickered to life, blinking like quiet landmines waiting to be stepped on.
"Let Jesse draw her close again," he said. "She still thinks he's hers. That makes him more dangerous than even I could be."
Selene hesitated. "What if he flips? He's unpredictable."
Damian turned to her, the cold certainty in his gaze making the air feel thinner.
"Everyone believes in the people they love-until the wire snaps."
Somewhere on the Outskirts – 4:10 A.M.
The farmhouse was silent now, except for the sound of a distant storm rolling in across the hills.
Alina sat on the floor, staring at the unopened decoy folder Jesse had carried in from his car without thinking. It bore the Reyes Foundation logo-her family's legacy-and her blood ran cold just looking at it.
Jesse paced nearby, rubbing his temples.
"Nico was a hacker," he finally said. "Smart. Too smart. Got pulled into something shady after graduation. We stopped talking when he started building ghost tech for corporate intelligence firms."
Alina's tone was flat. "And he sent you a message about me."
"I didn't know what it meant," Jesse said. "It came a month ago. Just a line: 'She's on the list. Tell her.' I thought it was a joke. A bad one."
Alina stood slowly, holding the folder. "You should have told me."
"I was trying to protect you."
She looked at him-truly looked-and shook her head. "Everyone always is."
He stepped forward. "Alina, please."
"Is it real?" she asked, lifting the folder. "Whatever's in here-do you even know?"
Jesse hesitated. "I didn't open it."
"Then let's do it together."
She dropped it onto the table between them.
Inside: financial records. Travel logs. Dossiers. But something felt wrong. The connections were too obvious. The names too convenient. Almost like...
Her eyes widened. "These files are designed to mislead. They're fake."
Jesse's stomach dropped. "How can you tell?"
"Because I know my father's handwriting. And this signature?" She pointed. "It's not his."
The storm broke outside-rain pounding the roof like war drums.
Alina slammed the folder shut. "Damian sent this. It's a trap."
Jesse stared at the pages, realization dawning. "He wants to frame someone. Or get you to act on false intel."
She nodded, voice low. "He's not just trying to dismantle my world. He wants me to do it for him."
Elsewhere - Untraceable Broadcast Hub
A light blinked green on Damian's console.
Selene checked her watch. "And now?"
Damian smiled, eyes locked on the network signal pulsing across the map.
"Now," he said, "we let her make her first mistake."