Location: Blackthorne Estate – Inner Courtyard, Nightfall
Rain drizzled in fine sheets, blurring the estate's elegant silhouette. The moment felt still—too still. Inside the main study, Damien stood by the window, watching the storm move like a prelude to something darker.
Vesper's voice echoed through the earpiece. "They've landed. North rooftop. Five agents. Heavily armed."
"Understood," Damien replied. He turned to Nora, who had just finished encrypting the last backup of the Silent Watch files. Her eyes met his.
"We need to broadcast it," she said. "Even if we don't survive tonight."
He walked over, placed a hand on hers. "We will survive. But just in case—upload it to five different nodes across the globe. Let it auto-trigger if my heart stops."
Nora blinked. "You rigged a biometric kill switch into the data?"
"I've had plans for years," Damien said, voice tight. "Now let's execute them."
They moved together—coordinated, flawless. In war, they were no longer billionaire and doctor. They were ghosts of vengeance carrying the burden of a broken legacy.
—
Location: Blackthorne Estate – Rooftop Warzone
Vesper ducked beneath a volley of plasma shots, rolled, and sent a blade into the chest of the closest agent. Another advanced. She snapped his neck mid-spin.
Blood splattered her armor. She whispered, "Two down."
But then came a sixth presence—unregistered, cloaked. This one was different. Faster.
He dropped from the sky like a shadow. Vesper's instincts screamed too late. A blade grazed her shoulder before she countered, slamming her knee into his gut.
He didn't flinch.
"You're good," he rasped. "But not enough."
Vesper narrowed her eyes. "Who sent you?"
He smirked. "The one who started all of this."
Before she could respond, he vanished into smoke.
—
Location: Sublevel Bunker – Kane Archive Room
Damien and Nora activated the central defense system. Steel shutters sealed the estate. Surveillance feeds blinked online—Red Fang agents sweeping each hallway, precision-trained.
"Time to even the odds," Damien murmured, then activated a series of turrets and gas traps along the perimeter.
Nora kept working, decoding the last of the Watch's hidden documents. Her fingers trembled when she saw a name—one that shouldn't be there.
Ezekiel Lancaster
Codename: Falcon
"My uncle," she whispered. "He's not dead."
Damien looked at the screen. "He's not only alive… he's leading the splinter faction of the Watch."
Suddenly, alarms flared. One of the doors burst open. Smoke flooded the corridor. A figure in black stepped through.
"Missed me, didn't you?" a deep voice called out.
Nora froze. Her eyes widened as the figure approached, removing his mask.
It was him.
Ezekiel Lancaster—older, but unmistakable. Her childhood mentor. The man who had trained her. The man she thought was long gone.
"You were the one feeding them information," Damien growled.
"I was protecting her," Ezekiel replied coolly. "Until she chose your side."
"You sided with a death squad," Nora said bitterly. "You joined the Watch that hunted us!"
"I joined the side that could win," Ezekiel snapped. "They promised a new order, one where our bloodlines would rule, not hide."
"You were family!" Nora's voice cracked. "You were supposed to protect me!"
"I still can," he said softly. "Give me the chip. Come with me. Let Damien go."
Damien stepped forward. "You'll have to kill me first."
A loaded silence. Then, Ezekiel raised his gun.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
—
Location: Exterior – Estate Edge
Reinforcements arrived—private commandos loyal to Damien's hidden network. Gunfire erupted across the estate grounds.
Inside, Damien lunged at Ezekiel. They clashed—old school fists, no tech. Nora joined, deflecting bullets, dodging fire.
But Ezekiel was still elite. He slammed Damien into a glass wall, pistol aimed at his heart.
"Final warning," he said.
Nora hesitated—until she heard a familiar voice over comms.
"Target locked," Vesper whispered.
A clean shot rang out.
Ezekiel dropped, gun clattering.
Damien exhaled. Nora stood over her uncle's body, pain written across her face.
"He raised me," she murmured. "But he died the moment he betrayed everything we stood for."
Damien stepped beside her. "Then let the truth bury him."