The safe house was quiet, but not peaceful. Rain had stopped, leaving the streets outside glistening under the flickering streetlights. Inside, the air was heavy with tension and unspoken fears.
Tari sat at the table, the laptop open, scanning the encrypted files again. Her hands moved quickly, but her eyes were distant, haunted. Ethan and Tessa exchanged a glance — she had been hiding something, and tonight, it would come to light.
"Ethan," Tari began, voice barely above a whisper. "There's something I haven't told you… about my brother."
Ethan leaned forward. "Go on."
Tari swallowed, glancing at Tessa before speaking. "Lucas… he wasn't just a contractor. He… he was part of Project Vortex."
Tessa stiffened. "What?"
Ethan's brow furrowed. "He… he worked for Apex?"
Tari nodded. "Yes. But he wasn't evil. Not really. He was young, ambitious, thought he could change things from the inside. Until… until he realized what they were doing."
Her voice trembled. "He tried to warn people. Tried to stop the assassinations, the cover-ups… but Apex… they don't forgive mistakes. He disappeared, and I've been searching for him ever since."
Ethan's mind raced. Ryan's death, the files, the flash drive, now Lucas… All threads connected. "So your brother was killed because he turned against them?"
Tari nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. "Yes. And Ryan… Ryan was helping him. That's why he was killed."
Tessa placed a hand on Tari's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
Tari shook her head. "I didn't want to drag anyone else into it. I thought… maybe I could handle it alone."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "You've been in this fight longer than you let on. And Apex knows it. That's why they're hunting you."
Tari's eyes hardened. "I don't care anymore. If we're going to stop this, I need you to know everything. My brother's death, Ryan… it's all connected. Project Vortex isn't just corruption. It's systematic. A network. And they have people everywhere — police, politicians, contractors… people we think we can trust."
Ethan's gaze softened slightly. "You've been carrying this alone for too long."
"I had to," she whispered. "I had no choice. And I wasn't ready to trust anyone… until now."
Silence hung in the room. The weight of the revelation settled over them. Every decision, every danger, every betrayal now had context.
Tessa finally spoke, her voice calm but firm. "Then we're all in. No more secrets. We fight together, or we don't fight at all."
Ethan nodded, looking between the two women. "Agreed. But we need a plan. Apex will anticipate every move we make, especially now that they know you're connected to Lucas."
Tari bit her lip, glancing down at the laptop. "I can access more of the system. But we'll need to be careful. One wrong move… and they'll come for us, like they did for Ryan."
Ethan leaned back, considering the options. "We need leverage. Something that Apex can't ignore, something that exposes them completely. And we need to bait them — make them think they're controlling the game, while we're the ones pulling the strings."
Tari's eyes lit up. "The files. The footage. If we leak it strategically… it could force them to make mistakes."
"Exactly," Ethan said. "But first, we need to understand Project Vortex fully. Its structure, its targets, its people. That's how we find Apex's weak points."
Tessa frowned. "And Shadowman?"
Ethan's gaze darkened. "He's part of the system. Or maybe outside it entirely. But he's watching. Every move we make, every step we take. He's testing us."
Tari's hands hovered over the keyboard. "I can trace the internal communications. See who's giving orders, who's acting on them. That could help us predict their next move."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "Good. But we move fast. Apex won't wait. And Shadowman… he won't hesitate to strike if we slip."
A long pause settled over them, the weight of their mission pressing down. Then Tari spoke again, voice quiet but resolute.
"I didn't just want revenge for my brother. I want to stop this from ever happening again. No one else should die because of their secrets."
Ethan nodded, a sense of grim determination settling over him. "Then we do it together. And we survive. That's the first step."
Tessa glanced at both of them, a spark of fear mixed with determination. "And if we don't?"
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Then we make sure our deaths aren't in vain. But trust me — we will survive."
For the first time since Ryan's death, the three of them shared a moment of understanding. A fragile alliance, built on fear, loss, and the shared desire for justice.
Outside, the city slept, unaware of the storm gathering in its shadows. Inside, the trio prepared for a war they couldn't yet see fully, a battle where every secret, every betrayal, every truth would have a price.
And the price… would be high.