LOGIN123BLACKRIDGE ARIA My grandmother gasped."I know that handwriting.""So do I," Viktor said quietly.My fingers shook as I opened the envelope.Inside was a single sheet of paper.Only one sentence had been written.Trust no one who survived Blackridge.Below it...A signature.Not my grandfather's.Not my grandmother's.Someone else.I frowned."What is Blackridge?"The reaction around me was immediate.Marcus looked confused.Sebastian looked confused.But Viktor...And Eleanor...Both of them went completely still.Eleanor whispered one name."Oh, Arthur..."Viktor closed his eyes."He kept it from you.""What is Blackridge?" I repeated.This time, Viktor answered."It wasn't a place.""It was an operation."Thirty years ago.One that should never have happened....MARCUSI'd spent my career around classified operations.Military coups.Political extractions.Counterintelligence.The way Viktor said those words told me Blackridge wasn't ordinary.It was infamous.Isaac watched
122PRICE OF TRUTH ADRIAN His relaxed posture vanished.His jaw tightened.His breathing stopped.I couldn't see the picture clearly from where I stood.But Adrian could.Isaac watched him carefully."I finally found something that gets your attention."Adrian's voice became dangerously quiet."Where did you get that?""I think you already know.""No.""I want to hear you say it."Isaac smiled."It came from the person who sold your family."The station fell deathly silent.Viktor's eyes widened.Grandmother went pale.Marcus slowly looked toward Viktor...Then toward Eleanor...Because there was only one terrifying possibility left.The traitor wasn't dead.The traitor had been alive all along.And somewhere beyond the station, hidden in the shadows...The real mastermind was still watching.VIKTORThe photograph changed everything.I watched Adrian's face harden in a way I had never seen before.Not anger.Not grief.Recognition.Whoever was in that picture mattered more than the
121OF SHADOWS ADRIAN Two more bodies.Nineteen....A familiar voice echoed somewhere behind me."Aria!"Eleanor.Alive.Relief washed over me before I could stop it.For years I had imagined this moment differently.I had imagined accusing her.Demanding answers.Making her feel every lonely birthday.Every Christmas.Every nightmare.Instead...The moment I saw her...I saw only my mother.Older.Broken.Still carrying guilt that should never have belonged to her.Hatred had sustained me.Reality had weakened it.I wasn't sure whether that made me stronger...Or more vulnerable....A muzzle flash briefly illuminated the station.Just enough.I counted.Seven operatives advancing together.Using overlapping formations.Their commander wasn't panicking.Interesting.Very interesting.Someone competent remained in charge.A calm female voice cut through the darkness."Maintain formation.""He's hunting isolated targets.""Stay together."I frowned.A woman.Experienced.Patient.Sh
120THIRTY YEARS OFMARCUSThe temperature in the station seemed to drop.Viktor took one measured step forward."I wondered when you'd finally say it."Adrian's eyes burned with restrained fury."You were supposed to protect us.""I tried.""You failed.""I know.""No."Adrian shook his head."You didn't fail."His next words landed like a hammer."You betrayed us."Before anyone could react—A burst of automatic gunfire ripped through the station.Bullets struck the locomotive, showering sparks across the tracks."They're here!" Sebastian shouted.Black-clad operatives poured from both tunnel entrances.At least twenty.Far too many."Down!" I yelled.We scattered behind concrete pillars as gunfire erupted from every direction.Adrian didn't move.Instead, he slowly reached into his coat.One of the attackers shouted, "Target acquired!""Eliminate everyone!"Adrian sighed."I was hoping to finish the conversation first."He withdrew a small black device from his pocket.No larger th
119MAN WHO SHOULDN'T EXISTMARCUS "I've imagined this moment thousands of times."Marcus—focus.Distance.Approximately twenty-five meters.No visible weapon.Too confident.That usually meant hidden backup.I swept the station with my eyes.Broken ticket booths.Collapsed platforms.Abandoned freight crates.Perfect places for concealed shooters.I couldn't see anyone.Which worried me even more."Don't come any closer," I warned, raising my pistol.The man barely acknowledged it."You must be Marcus.""You know my name.""I know everyone's name."His gaze shifted to Sebastian."And you still favor your right shoulder after that injury in Prague."Sebastian stiffened."How do you know that?"The stranger ignored the question.Instead, he looked at Viktor.For the first time, the smile disappeared."So...""The prodigal son finally returned."Viktor's expression became unreadable."I hoped I'd never see you again.""I can't say the feeling is mutual."The two men stared at each othe
118THINGS TO KNOWARIA"The recording," I whispered.Everyone looked at me."My grandfather said there were things he wanted me to know."My grandmother nodded."And I added my message because I knew he wouldn't tell you everything.""What about the rest?"Her expression turned solemn."There is one final recording."Viktor stared at her."You made another?"She looked at him."I had to.""Where is it?"She hesitated.Then she pointed back toward the Vault."In the chamber."Marcus cursed under his breath."The attackers are already inside.""Not where they'll look," she replied."My husband designed the Vault with layers.""The projector was only the beginning."Sebastian rubbed his forehead."So we have to go back?""No."Her answer came instantly."Not yet."Marcus glanced toward the darkness behind us."We don't have much time."As if summoned by his words, distant gunfire echoed through the tunnel.Closer than before.The attackers had discovered the hidden passage."They're com







