Location: Tavara – Lancaster Private Intelligence Wing
The clock ticked softly on the far wall of the command center. Nora leaned over the digital map of Tavara, her brows furrowed. "She's methodical. See this pattern?" She pointed to a series of vanishing points—locations where cameras went dark, no data was retrieved, and no witnesses came forward.
Charles stepped closer. "She's using blind zones to create a ghost corridor. That takes precision."
"She's not just after Damien," Nora said. "She wants him to feel it. She's leaving traces... for me."
Caelum, seated across from them, analyzed her words. "Why you?"
Nora's fingers hovered over a paused video frame—an infrared imprint of a woman's boot mark on the ground. "Because I'm the one who took her off the map years ago. I treated her after she was nearly killed by her own employer. I faked her death."
Damien entered, catching her words. "You knew her?"
"She was a patient once," Nora replied, eyes locking with his. "Code name: Vesper. Real name? Alina Frost."
Damien's face froze for a beat. "Alina Frost? She worked for my father... before I took over."
"Exactly. She was trained under your family's legacy. That's why this is personal."
---
Location: Tavara – Vesper's Positioning Point
Perched high above the city, Vesper watched through a scope, marking heat signatures and electronic pulses. Her target hadn't left the estate. But her true hunt had already begun.
"She remembers," Vesper whispered, tracing a finger along the scar on her jawline. "Good."
She lowered the scope and began assembling a butterfly-shaped drone. Inside, a coded chip pulsed—a digital whisper encoded just for Nora.
She launched it into the night.
---
Location: Lancaster Estate – Damien's Office
The drone glided through a crack in the window, its landing silent. Nora picked it up carefully.
"It's a message," she murmured. "Encoded with a bio-key. My bio-key."
Damien tensed. "She still has your signature?"
Nora nodded, unlocking the message. A single line of code scrolled across the screen:
"Truth heals. But can it save him?"
And then a location flashed.
"Trap?" Charles asked.
Nora shook her head slowly. "No. A challenge."
---
Location: Abandoned Observatory – Tavara Outskirts
Later that night, Nora stood inside the circular ruins of the observatory. Wind howled through shattered glass, and stars blinked above like voiceless witnesses.
A soft rustle behind her.
"You came alone," Vesper said, stepping from the shadows in her all-black gear, blades glinting at her sides.
"I knew you wouldn't hurt me," Nora said evenly. "But you'll try to destroy everything I love."
Vesper's expression softened for a heartbeat. "You gave me a second life. Now I've been paid to end one."
"Don't do this," Nora whispered. "He wasn't the one who betrayed you. It was your handler."
Vesper tilted her head. "Then why does it feel so... satisfying to aim at his heart?"
Nora took a step forward. "Because you never knew what it meant to have one until I fixed yours."
A pause.
Then Vesper's eyes flickered. "You always knew how to make death sound poetic."