Beneath the Ashesl

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Chapter Twelve: Beneath the Ashes

The emergency chamber felt like a womb carved out of steel—safe, yes, but suffocating too. The cold air inside tasted of recycled oxygen and secrets. I pressed my palms against the metallic wall, trying to still the tremor in my hands. The tunnel escape had left my lungs burning and my thoughts racing. I wasn’t sure which would collapse first—my body or my trust in Liam Sinclair.

He moved with precision, fingers dancing over the touchscreen like a code was buried in his bones. The light from the panel cast shadows across his jaw, making him look older. Sharper. More dangerous.

“How long can we stay in here?” I asked, my voice barely audible over the low hum.

“Until nightfall, at best,” he replied without looking up. “They’ve already compromised three of our decoys. Scarlett’s moving faster than we anticipated.”

My heart dropped at the sound of her name. Scarlett. It was more than a name now—it was a specter that haunted every corner of my mind. I turned to face Liam, my spine pressed against the cold wall. “You said she helped build this vault. Why would she want to destroy me now?”

Liam stopped typing. The pause was louder than any siren. “She doesn’t want you dead, Isla. She wants you broken. Desperate. Willing to give up the one thing she can’t steal.”

I blinked. “The vault?”

He nodded. “The code inside it responds to your DNA. That’s how your father designed it. Scarlett needs you scared enough to open it voluntarily.”

My knees buckled slightly. “So the threats, the break-in at my apartment, the fire at Cambridge…”

“Psychological warfare,” he finished grimly. “She’s isolating you. Manipulating your fear. When you’ve got no one left to trust, she’ll show up with open arms.”

“And you?” I asked, searching his face. “Am I supposed to trust you?”

He turned, locking eyes with me. “You already do. That’s why you’re here. Even when you want to hate me for it.”

A flicker of something stirred in my chest. Affection? Guilt? It was hard to name emotions when the floor kept shifting beneath you. “So what now? We hide in a steel coffin?”

“No.” He stepped away from the screen, opened a wall compartment, and pulled out a black velvet case. When he opened it, a strange device shimmered inside—flat, circular, etched with glowing lines. It pulsed with a quiet hum.

“What is that?” I asked.

“The decoy key,” he said. “It looks like the original, but it’s a shell. Useless without your DNA.”

My eyes widened. “You replicated my father’s life’s work?”

“I replicated its shell,” he corrected. “To protect you.”

Before I could answer, the control screen blinked red.

Incoming Transmission — Source: Unknown

Liam’s jaw tightened. “They’ve hijacked the emergency feed.”

The screen flickered. Then she appeared.

Scarlett Redmond.

Her face looked like it hadn’t aged a day—flawless, elegant, terrifying. She wore a black suit, lips like crimson glass, and eyes like a glacier before it cracks.

“Hello, Isla,” she purred. “Miss me?”

I stepped forward, fists clenched. “What do you want, Scarlett?”

Her smile curved like a blade. “The same thing your father bled to protect. Open the vault. Deliver the alliance’s legacy. And this ends.”

“No,” I snapped. “You manipulated my life. You turned it into a lie.”

Her smile disappeared. “I protected you. Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if I hadn’t kept you hidden?”

“You made me a target,” I hissed.

Her eyes flared with something raw. “You were always a target. But you were never supposed to learn the truth. Not like this.”

Liam stepped forward. “You’re done manipulating her.”

Scarlett turned her attention to him, her voice dripping venom. “Still playing the noble traitor, Liam? I should’ve buried you with your father.”

The screen went black.

Liam slammed his fist into the panel. “She’s coming. We need to leave.”

“Go where?” I asked, pulse racing.

“To the last place they’ll expect. My mother’s estate in Raventon.”

I stared at him. “You have a mother?”

A small smile ghosted across his lips. “She walked away from this war years ago. But she might be the only one who knows how to end it.”

We moved quickly. Liam packed the decoy key, data drives, and a portable shield generator. He tucked a compact weapon into his holster. I noticed a tremor in his hand as he secured the clip.

“You’re scared,” I said.

He looked up. “Of losing you? Every second.”

I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t get the chance.

The lights in the chamber flickered. A deep rumble echoed through the walls.

“Liam?” I whispered.

“They’ve breached the outer corridor. We have to go—now.”

He led me to a hidden hatch behind the main console. It slid open, revealing a narrow tunnel shrouded in shadows. We slipped through. The door sealed shut behind us with a hiss that sounded far too final.

The tunnel curved downward, lit only by emergency strips along the ceiling. Pipes ran along the walls, and the air smelled of rust and time. We ran in silence, our footsteps pounding like war drums.

At the tunnel’s end, an old service elevator awaited. Liam punched in a code. The doors screeched open, revealing a dimly lit interior.

“This will take us to the Raventon subline. Off-grid. No surveillance.”

The elevator rattled as it climbed. I leaned against the wall, watching him in the flickering light. “Why me?” I whispered. “Why does everything come back to me?”

Liam didn’t look at me, but his voice was soft. “Because your father believed you’d survive what none of us could.”

I met his gaze. “What if he was wrong?”

“He wasn’t.”

The elevator stopped. The doors groaned open to reveal an abandoned underground station—graffiti scrawled across crumbling walls, rusted rails stretching into darkness.

Liam led the way, ducking behind a broken billboard that hid a stairwell. We climbed.

When we emerged, the world had changed.

We stood in the Raventon woods, under a night sky speckled with stars. Tall trees swayed above us, and the moonlight painted silver trails across the ground.

“This doesn’t look like a safe house,” I muttered.

“That’s the point,” Liam said, guiding me through a nearly invisible trail. “It’s shielded by old tech—motion scramblers, heat diffusers. Only three people knew about it.”

“Let me guess. Two are dead.

He didn’t answer.

After several minutes, the woods parted, revealing a secluded stone cottage. It looked like something out of a fairytale—arched windows, ivy crawling up its sides, a wooden door set into its heart.

Liam knocked once, twice, then paused.

The door creaked open.

A woman stood there—tall, sharp-featured, with hair the color of winter storms. Her eyes, pale as frost, locked onto me with something between suspicion and recognition.

“You brought her,” she said, voice cool.

“She’s the key,” Liam answered.

“And you’re certain?”

“I’ve never been more certain.”

The woman’s gaze shifted. “Then come inside, Isla Redmond. It’s time you understood what your bloodline was really built to protect.”

I hesitated. Then stepped over the threshold.

And something deep inside me shifted—like a lock turning.

The past wasn’t behind me anymore.

It was coming for me.