Back in their hotel room overlooking Casablanca's harbor, Ava stared at the flash drive on the table like it was a live grenade.
"She fears *me*?" she said.
Julian was pacing. Focused. Tight. "Viktor never says things just to say them. If he gave us that drive and said your name unlocks it… it means Noura already sees you as a threat."
Ava turned slowly. "But why? I've never met her before all this."
Julian stopped. "Because you're not afraid of her. You stood up to her. You challenged her. And I chose *you*—not her."
Ava's heart beat hard in her chest. "So what's the password?"
"Try your full name. The one on your birth certificate."
Ava nodded, inserted the drive into Julian's laptop, and typed:
*Ava Noelle Bishop.*
A soft chime.
Then—the screen lit up.
Hundreds of files.
Encrypted messages, offshore accounts, photos, contracts, and something deeper: a list titled *"Contingency Contacts."* Beneath it: powerful names, many already in hiding or under investigation. But one entry at the top stopped both of them cold.
*Operation CASSIOPEIA*
*Initiate if compromised.*
*Target: Julian Kade. Priority: Eliminate.*
Ava froze. "She put a hit on you."
Julian's voice was low. "And made sure I'd never see it coming."
The door behind them clicked.
They turned instantly—but too late.
Two armed men in black stepped into the room. Faces covered. Guns raised.
Julian reached for the laptop, but one of them barked: "*Down!*"
Ava slowly raised her hands. "We don't want trouble."
"Too late for that," one of the men said. His voice—American. Cold. "The lady wants you back, Mr. Kade."
Julian's jaw clenched. "She's running out of pawns."
The man walked forward and yanked the flash drive from the laptop.
But before he could turn—
Ava moved.
She grabbed a glass from the desk and *smashed* it into his face, ducked, and kicked the second man's leg hard. Julian tackled him, wrestled for the gun—two shots fired into the ceiling—glass shattered—
Then silence.
Both men were down. One unconscious. One groaning.
Julian stood slowly, breathing hard. Ava's hands were shaking, blood on her knuckles from the glass.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. You?"
"I will be." He looked at the laptop. The files were still open. "She's escalating. We're getting too close."
Ava looked at the man moaning on the floor. "Then we hit back before she does."
Julian met her eyes. "Ready to go all the way?"
She stepped forward, voice steady.
"We already did."