“I should’ve seen it,” she whispered. “He was always the one pulling the strings. Even when I thought I was free.”
I stepped closer, cautiously, as if approaching a fragile mirror.
“You are free.”
She finally met my gaze, and I swear, even drenched in blood, rain, and memories, she looked like fire refusing to be extinguished.
“I’m going to end this,” she said, her voice raw. “Whatever it takes.”
I nodded. “I’m with you.”
She blinked slowly, as if my presence meant something. That I was still there, still choosing her, still seeing her, and I was.
God help me, I was never going to stop seeing her.
Not as a mission.
Not as a weapon.
But as Liz.
The girl with fire in her soul and secrets woven into her very being, and the woman I would follow through hell — just to bring her back.
Elizabeth
There he stood,
Alive. Breathing. Clad in that same unyielding calm that seemed to envelop him like a well-worn cloak.
My father.
His figure loomed in the heart of the dim command room, illuminated by the soft flicker of lights and the low hum of servers that buzzed softly behind him, like a heart that refused to cease its rhythm. His hands were clasped behind his back, as if welcoming an old friend.
Not his daughter. His masterpiece.
“Elizabeth,” he said, as if we were simply picking up a conversation from yesterday.
“I expected you sooner.”
I stepped forward, gun raised, my arms steady despite the turmoil roiling in my chest, a tempest of everything I had tried so hard to bury.
“No code name?” I shot back. “No orders? No cryptic lecture on duty and sacrifice?”
He offered a faint smile.
“I thought you deserved something more personal.”
“How generous,” I retorted, my tone sharp.
Noah stood beside me, silent yet vigilant, his gaze sweeping the room. I could sense his presence—close enough to guard me, but allowing me to take the lead. He understood this was about more than just the mission.
This was about me.
I aimed the gun at my father’s chest, my voice steady.
“Tell me why. No lies. No speeches. Just why.”
His head tilted slightly, a glimmer of intrigue in his eyes.
