Valeria stood outside Lockridge Storage, a fortress-like facility on the far edge of the city. Cold wind whipped through the gravel lot as dusk settled like ash. The iron key Nico had given her felt heavier than it should in her coat pocket.
Storage Unit 3B.
That's what he'd said. Go there. Don't trust anyone.
But the real question wasn't just what he'd hidden.
It was why he was willing to risk everything to lead her to it.
She hesitated before sliding the key into the padlock. The moment it clicked open, a chill danced up her spine.
The door creaked as she pushed it upward.
Darkness.
She stepped inside.
---
The space smelled of dust, metal, and secrets. Old filing cabinets lined the back wall, covered in a tarp. A single lightbulb swung gently overhead, casting distorted shadows across the concrete floor.
She yanked off the tarp and opened the first cabinet.
Documents.
Thousands of them. Names. Bank accounts. Photos. Surveillance reports.
It was a dossier on everyone—from city officials to journalists to artists.
She flipped to a file labeled "Monroe, Cassandra."
Inside: photos of her mother from the last twenty years. Passports under different names. Flight logs. Maps marked with red dots. A page labeled "Operation Aegis."
Below it:
> PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Cassandra Monroe
SECONDARY: Terminate assets with compromised loyalty.
FLAGGED: N.C. | R.D. | E.R.
Valeria froze.
N.C. — Nico Carver.
R.D. — Rafael DeLuca.
E.R. — Elena Reyes.
All marked for termination.
Her heart pounded.
She turned to the next folder, labeled simply:
"Subject V.M."
Her own initials.
Inside were notes dated as far back as 2009.
> Daughter of Cassandra and Michael Monroe.
Untapped leverage. Observed developing decoding intuition.
Protected due to subject C.M.'s final bargain.
If activated, subject V.M. may possess access to hidden cache. Unaware of her value.
Valeria backed away, bile rising in her throat.
She wasn't just her mother's daughter.
She was a pawn in a game she never knew she'd been born into.
---
She left the unit in a daze, gripping a flash drive she'd found taped beneath one of the drawers. Whatever was on it had to matter. Nico wanted her to find it—and others wanted her dead for knowing it.
Back in her car, she didn't go home.
She drove to the one place she hadn't yet dared to go:
Rafe DeLuca's penthouse.
---
His building was a fortress, but her name was already on the guest list. She was waved up without question.
The elevator opened directly into a luxurious apartment that smelled of dark whiskey and ambition. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the skyline like a throne room.
Rafe stood near the window, a glass of scotch in his hand, looking over the city like it belonged to him.
"I thought you might show up," he said without turning. "You found the key."
"You knew about it?"
"I suspected Nico would break eventually."
She walked toward him slowly. "You know he's alive."
"I know everything, Valeria."
"Then tell me why I found my name in a government file marked asset to be activated."
He finally turned. His expression unreadable. "Because your mother wasn't just passing secrets. She was building an insurance policy. You."
"I'm not a weapon."
"No," he said. "You're worse. You're the truth."
---
She pulled the flash drive from her coat. "What's on here?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked to his desk, inserted the drive into his encrypted computer, and let the contents load.
His face turned pale.
Valeria moved beside him.
It was a full blueprint—an internal surveillance operation with names of clients, moles, and funds traced to off-shore accounts. A map showing how Marlow Crane laundered blood money through DeLuca's tech empire.
And worse—
A hidden video file, labeled: "Reyes | Confession"
They opened it.
Detective Reyes appeared on screen, seated in a dark interrogation room.
Her voice was calm. Hollow.
> "I did what I had to. Cassandra promised me immunity, then disappeared. I had no choice. I delivered Nico to Crane. It was part of the deal to clear my record."
"They told me Valeria had to stay unaware. She's the final lock. If she opens it—if she remembers everything—Crane will burn it all down."
Valeria's legs buckled. Rafe caught her before she fell.
"She betrayed you," he said. "All this time."
"No," Valeria whispered, blinking through hot tears. "They all did."
---
Rafe reached into his pocket and handed her an envelope. "There's something else. Something I didn't tell you before."
Inside was a birth certificate.
Not hers.
But her mother's.
Under aliases, multiple entries—different cities, different dates.
Then finally—one marked classified.
The name beside it:
Selene Crane.
Her mother's real name.
And her last name?
Crane.
Valeria stared at him. "You're telling me my mother is related to—"
"Marlow," Rafe said quietly. "Your mother is his sister."
---
Before Valeria could respond, Rafe's security alarm blared.
The lights flickered.
Then shut off.
An emergency signal blinked red through the apartment.
"They've found us," Rafe said, voice tight.
A voice echoed through the hidden speaker system.
Not Nico.
Not Reyes.
Not her mother.
But someone else.
Gravelly. Cold.
> "Your time is up, Vale. Choose wisely. He dies tonight."
The countdown on her phone restarted:
00:09:59.
Nine minutes.
One target.
No way out.