Location: Tavara – Blackstone Estate, Generator Wing
Victor burst into the generator chamber, gun raised, eyes scanning through smoke and chaos. The whir of damaged turbines echoed like a dying heartbeat, sparking wires crackling above. Damien was crouched behind a control pillar, bleeding from the shoulder, still returning fire.
"She's here," Damien growled, pointing across the room.
Estelle Kane stepped out from the shadows.
She looked exactly as Victor remembered—elegant, composed, in tactical armor tailored to perfection. Her expression was calm, lips curled in a smirk, even as bodies lay bleeding behind her.
"You've grown," she said, tilting her head, "Victor Kane—the prodigal bastard."
Victor kept his weapon trained. "And you're still the backstabbing snake in the family."
Estelle chuckled. "Come now. Don't be so harsh. I didn't come to kill you… not yet."
Kael joined him silently, gun aimed but holding fire. The tension thickened.
Victor took a step forward. "You're with Archer. You helped him launch this attack. Why?"
Estelle's smile faded. "Because someone had to burn the rot. The Kane family has ruled with hypocrisy for decades—hoarding secrets, sacrificing their own. Your mother was the only decent one among them. And they killed her."
Victor's jaw clenched. "Lies."
"No. Truth." She threw a small cube toward him—Victor caught it. A holo-recording activated, displaying a video: his uncles, a few board members… and his grandfather, discussing how his mother's dissent would 'endanger the bloodline's hold.'
Victor's eyes burned. The recording ended.
"I never wanted to work with Archer," Estelle said softly. "But when the Kane family branded your mother a threat and turned on her, I had no choice. Archer offered me leverage. Protection."
Victor's voice was steel. "So you betrayed us all. You brought this war."
"No," Estelle replied, stepping closer. "I brought balance. But now… I'm done with Archer too."
Kael scoffed. "Convenient timing."
Estelle raised a hand. "I didn't come empty-handed. I have the final key to Ember—the one your mother hid from everyone, including you."
Victor's breath hitched. "Prove it."
She tapped her wrist console, and a holographic interface opened—a fragment of encrypted data that completed the missing portion Nora had been trying to decrypt.
Victor lowered his gun slightly. "Why give it to me now?"
"Because Archer is planning something far worse. And because deep down… I believe in what you're doing."
Silence settled.
Then the walls shook violently—an explosion rocked the west wing. Nora's voice crackled over comms. "Victor, the server vault is under siege. They've breached the outer defenses!"
Victor looked at Estelle. "Help us. Prove your words."
Estelle nodded. "I'll buy you time."
Damien growled, "You trust her?"
Victor loaded his rifle. "No. But I trust what's at stake."
With a curt nod to Kael, he dashed out. Behind him, Estelle turned and faced the oncoming soldiers alone, guns drawn, a fury in her eyes that Victor hadn't seen since childhood.
As he sprinted through the fiery corridor, one thought haunted him:
Was Estelle a traitor… or the only one who ever told the truth?