Ashes of Our Flame
Episode 8: "Echoes in the Vault"
The kiss lingered long after Kara left Adrian's penthouse. It wasn't tender. It wasn't sweet. It was a war cry wrapped in fire.
She rode the subway back to the safehouse with the stolen biometric data and the weight of everything she was becoming.
Love wasn't part of the mission. But it was happening anyway—and it scared her more than Marcus Vale ever could.
---
Tessa was already waiting, legs curled up on the couch, two empty Red Bulls beside her.
"You got it?"
Kara plugged in the chip. "Full biometric scan. We're in."
Tessa whistled. "You kissed him, didn't you?"
Kara froze. "What?"
Tessa grinned without looking up. "You're glowing. Or maybe imploding."
Kara ignored her. "We don't have time for games."
Tessa's fingers danced over the keyboard. "Right. So, the vault is underground. Coded security, biometric locks, internal pressure sensors. But I found a weak spot—a service tunnel that leads under the east wing. It's not connected to the main security system. We breach it there."
Kara nodded. "What about guards?"
"Only two on the overnight shift. I can trigger a fire alarm on the top floor to pull them away."
"And the vault?"
"Adrian's scan should open it. But I can't predict what's inside."
Kara exhaled. "We go tonight."
---
The city was quiet at 2:13 a.m.—too quiet.
They wore black, faces covered, backpacks loaded. Kara and Tessa slipped through the east tunnel like ghosts.
"I still can't believe we're doing this," Tessa whispered, eyes scanning the shadows.
Kara didn't reply. Her fingers trembled, but not from fear.
From knowing what might be waiting behind that vault door.
The truth.
And the truth never came without cost.
They reached the breach point. Tessa planted a small charge, stepped back, and—boom. Just enough to crack the seal without tripping the alarm.
Inside was colder. Older. A forgotten corridor below the city's most powerful tower.
The vault door stood ahead like a mouth waiting to swallow them.
Kara approached the scanner, pulled out Adrian's data, and held the chip steady. A green light blinked.
SCAN ACCEPTED.
She pressed his thumb data.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The door creaked open.
And there it was.
A room full of shadows and secrets.
Files. Tapes. Codes. Guns. Photos. Blueprints. Everything Marcus Vale had ever done, documented in cruel detail.
And at the center—an old, leather-bound book.
The black book.
Kara stepped forward, hands shaking as she opened it.
There—her mother's name. Elena Voss. Pages and pages of notes.
Ties to Marcus Vale. Secret meetings. Double agent.
"What the hell…" Kara whispered.
Tessa hovered over her shoulder. "Your mom was working for him?"
"No…" Kara said. "It's more complicated than that. She was infiltrating his circle. She got close… too close."
"She fell in love with him."
Kara's hands trembled. "And when she tried to expose him, he turned on her. Framed her. Ruined everything."
Suddenly—
Footsteps.
Heavy. Fast.
Tessa looked up, panicked. "They're here."
Kara shoved the book into her bag. "Move!"
They raced back through the tunnel, alarms now screaming above them. Tessa cursed. "They're faster than expected—"
A bullet ricocheted off the wall behind them.
Kara ducked. "Keep going!"
They reached the service ladder, scrambled up—
Only to find Marcus Vale waiting at the top.
Calm.
Silent.
Holding a gun.
"Well," he said, "you're more like your mother than I realized."
Kara stood in front of Tessa, jaw tight. "You killed her."
"I gave her a chance," Marcus said. "Just like I gave you. She refused."
He pointed the gun at her head.
"And now I'm tired of giving chances."
Bang.
But the shot didn't hit her.
Adrian tackled his father from behind, sending the gun flying across the room.
Kara screamed. "Adrian?!"
He wrestled Marcus to the ground. "Run!"
"No!"
"Go, Kara!"
Tessa grabbed her. "We have the book! Move!"
She hesitated—then ran.
The last thing she saw was Adrian's eyes meeting hers.
And the heartbreak in them.
---
Back at the safehouse, Kara collapsed to the floor, breathless, the black book clutched to her chest.
Tessa locked the door. "We made it."
But Kara wasn't celebrating.
"Adrian stayed behind."
"Maybe he got out," Tessa said qui
etly.
"No. He let us go. He saved me."
And she left him.
Because she had to.
---
To be continued in Episode 9...
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