I force myself not to follow. She needs space to transform.
Sergei appears beside me. "The teams are ready. Everything is positioned."
"And if he doesn't show? If it's an ambush?"
"This is his masterpiece. He won't miss it."
At 10:05 PM, Sonya emerges.
The transformation is complete.
White tulle and silk, fitted bodice with delicate straps, romantic tutu that falls to mid-calf. Exactly what Anton specified in his video. Giselle, Act II, the ghostly Wili.
She looks fragile. Ethereal. Heartbreakingly vulnerable.
Except I know what's hidden in that costume. And so does she.
"How do I look?" she asks quietly.
"Like his fantasy. Exactly right."
She crosses to me, takes my hand.
At 10:15 PM, FBI teams confirm final positions throughout Juilliard's basement level and around Starr Theater building.
At 10:20 PM, Chicago takes perimeter positions. Viktor and his five men spread across the Lincoln Center campus, covering every exit from the underground system.
At 10:25 PM, Sergei calls everyone together for a final check.
"Communication test. Team A?"
"Team A ready," I respond.
"Team B?"
"Team B positioned at Starr Theater," Mariana's voice comes through the earpiece. "Awaiting signal to go."
"Team C?"
"Perimeter secured," Viktor confirms.
"Medical?"
"Standing by."
Sergei looks at Sonya. "Ready?"
She nods, adjusting the white tulle skirt one final time. "Ready."
We leave the warehouse at exactly 10:28 PM—Sonya, me, and six Philadelphia security in two vehicles. The short drive to Juilliard Theater takes two minutes.
At the entrance, I take her hand.
"Dance for them," I say quietly. "But come back to me."
"Always."
At 10:30 PM the doors are unlocked, exactly as expected, and we enter. The lights are on—a path of illumination leading from the entrance toward Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Stage directions from a madman.
