Ms. Lin's smirk was the coldest, most terrifying thing Anya had ever witnessed. It was the face of absolute betrayal, born from years of watching the Thorne family from the shadows.
"You've lost, Qilin," Ms. Lin—now the full-fledged Security Chief—declared, raising the jamming device. "I'm activating the frequency now. In sixty seconds, every Lombardi agent on the perimeter will receive a massive spike indicating the live Qilin energy signature right here, in the main security hub. They'll breach the walls, and the Thorne family will lose everything."
Anya did not panic. She had no powerful patrons, no rock star brother, and no Matriarch to save her now. She only had her Qilin instinct, the download of the security logs, and a fierce, burning fury.
"You're wrong, Lin," Anya said, her voice dropping, resonating with a sound that was no longer human, but a low, dangerous growl. "You've failed to account for two things. First, the Qilin does not die easily. Second, Jax Thorne doesn't miss his cues."
Just as Ms. Lin's finger hovered over the activation button, the lights in the entire security hub—which had just been restored—shattered. The ceiling lights exploded, plunging the room into absolute darkness, illuminated only by the frantic flashing of warning lights on the server rack.
BZZZZZZZZT!
The surge protector Jax had manipulated in the basement wasn't meant to simply turn off the lights; it was meant to cause a spectacular, directed electrical failure.
Ms. Lin screamed, dropping the delicate jamming device, which hit the ground and sparked uselessly. She fumbled for a weapon in the dark.
Anya moved instantly. The Qilin's eyes, unlike human eyes, adjusted to the sudden low light, allowing her to see the shadows shift. She knew this room, having studied the schematics.
She didn't reach for a weapon. She lunged straight for the central server rack, using her newfound anomalous strength to rip a section of the steel casing free. She then used the heavy piece of metal to smash the Security Chief's head into the glass monitor projecting the compound's real-time feeds.
The glass shattered with a sickening crunch. The impact, fueled by the Qilin's furious strength, sent Ms. Lin reeling.
Anya didn't wait. She grabbed the signet ring from Ms. Lin's stunned, shaking hand and raced back to the open server. The logs she had downloaded were the key.
Meanwhile, deep in the vault suite, Lucien was receiving chaotic feeds. The financial freeze on Lombardi was working, but suddenly, the estate's internal systems were screaming about a massive, localized power failure in the security hub. Simultaneously, the secure line to Jax was reporting silence.
"Security breach in the hub! All personnel mobilize!" he yelled into the emergency comms.
But then, Dr. Zuo's voice crackled through the speakers, laced with terror. "Lucien! Jax's emergency signal just came online! He's transmitting video from the utility closet outside the hub! He's confirming an electrical sabotage… and… oh, dear God, Lucien! He's transmitting the feed from the recovered security server!"
Lucien watched, horrified, as the recovered footage from the server—the footage Anya had just downloaded—began playing on the vault's main screen. It showed Ms. Lin, wearing the Security Chief ring, openly confessing her betrayal and planning to use the jammer.
The confession was the final, devastating Face-Slapping Scene, not to an enemy, but to the Master himself.
Lucien slammed his fist onto the control panel, his vision blurring with rage and self-loathing. The betrayal was internal. The one I trusted closest!
"Dr. Zuo, where is the Qilin energy signature now?!"
"It's faint! Jax's sabotage must have jammed the emitter! I'm getting a weak, intermittent signal… It's coming from the security hub itself! She went back, Lucien! She went back to confront the traitor!"
Back in the security hub, Ms. Lin was staggering back to her feet, blood trickling from her temple. She was furious, but her eyes held a new, professional determination.
"Foolish Qilin," she spat, pulling a small, high-powered stun gun. "You won the skirmish, but the trap is set. The Lombardi agents are entering the northern perimeter now, guided by my false beacon. They will find the security hub first, and they will find you."
Anya gripped the signet ring in her hand. She had the evidence of the traitor, and she had the memory of the betrayal. She didn't need to fight Ms. Lin physically anymore. She needed to expose the real Master.
"You're just the foot soldier, Lin," Anya countered, her voice ringing with Qilin certainty. "You didn't poison the Dragon's Breath Pine for money. You did it for power from your true Master." Anya looked directly at the main camera in the hub, knowing the footage was now streaming to the vault.
"The Security Chief's ring is merely a puppet's trophy. The real orchestrator is someone who hated the Qilin's magical protection and feared the Matriarch's authority. Someone who needed the Thorne Group to be financially vulnerable, but politically clean, to seize control."
She pointed the signet ring directly at the camera. "The true traitor is the one who knew the Qilin was the source of the family's luck, and who stood to gain everything from Lucien's emotional ruin! The real Master is the one who will use the Lombardi invasion as a clean-up operation!"
Before Ms. Lin could fire the stun gun, a sudden, blinding light exploded from the signet ring in Anya's hand. The Qilin's magic, fueled by rage and justice, had been activated by the contact with the ring and the proximity to the dying security systems.
The blast of light hit Ms. Lin directly. She was thrown backward, slamming against the reinforced wall with tremendous force. The stun gun flew out of her hand, and her eyes rolled back into her head.
Anya sank to her knees, breathless, the light fading. The immediate threat was neutralized, but the Lombardi Group was now breaching the perimeter.
The steel vault door to the security hub burst open. Lucien, his tie gone, his shirt stained, and his eyes burning with protective rage, rushed in, flanked by Jax and a terrified Dr. Zuo.
Lucien ignored the unconscious Ms. Lin and immediately swept Anya into a fierce, protective embrace. "Xiao Bao! You incredible fool! You are safe! You are safe!"
"I'm fine," Anya gasped, clinging to him. "Lin is down. The truth is on the server. The real Master… is still inside."
Jax ran to the server and secured the downloaded log file, grinning fiercely. "Told you I don't miss my cues, Ice King! The Lombardi agents are seconds away from the garden entrance!"
"We don't run anymore," Lucien declared, pulling a combat knife from his boot. "We fight. Dr. Zuo, secure the server! Jax, you are with me. We meet the Lombardi agents at the garden entrance and defend the estate! Anya, you stay here. You are too vulnerable!"
Anya grabbed his arm, her voice firm. "No! I am the Qilin! I am the Guardian! I protect the Thorne family! The real traitor is still here, and I know who it is!"
She looked past Lucien, straight at the Matriarch's shocked face, which had just appeared in the doorway, along with two other high-level security officers.
Anya held up the bloody signet ring. "The poisoner was a Security Chief, controlled by someone who feared you, Madam Thorne, and your control over the Thorne social and political capital! They needed you discredited! The one who gains the most is the one who stands closest to the throne, but after you! The one who is Lucien's greatest rival!"
Her eyes widened with the final, horrifying realization.