“I’m not weak,” she said, each word laced with fire. “I’ve never been stronger. You trained my body.Hesaved my soul.”
That shut him up — for a moment.
But we didn’t get time to gloat.
The alarms flared again. Footsteps thundered behind us. One second we were facing him, the next, surrounded.
At least a dozen.
No time to think.
“Back to back,” I said, and Liz didn’t even nod. She just moved.
And then the fire rained down.
Bullets lit up the air. My gun roared in my hands, and Liz moved like a blade beside me — elegant, ruthless. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to.
Bodies dropped. Smoke burned our lungs.
And then—
Silence.
We turned back toward her father, both panting, sweat and blood soaking us.
But he was still standing.
Still smiling.
“You’ll never be anything but what I made you, Elizabeth,” he sneered. “You’re a failure.”
Then he raised the pistol I hadn’t seen him draw—
And fired.
The shot echoed.
Liz gasped.
“No—LIZ!”
I caught her as she crumpled, her body folding into mine like a dying star.
Her father was laughing—until I raised my gun and put a bullet straight through his heart.
He fell.
But I didn’t even watch.
My hands were already pressing against her side. Blood bloomed beneath my fingers.
“No, no, no, no, no—Liz,stay with me,” I begged, voice cracking, panic crawling up my throat. “Please—just look at me—God,please.”
Her eyes fluttered. She reached up with a trembling hand and brushed her fingers against my jaw.
“I… I love you,” she whispered, a faint smile forming.
I gathered her in my arms, pressing my forehead to hers.
