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Chapter Thirty-Three: Return to the Tower
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2026-08-06 00:09:05The underground passage seemed longer on the way out.
No one spoke.
The only sounds were our footsteps echoing against damp concrete and the distant hum of Silverfang Tower above us.
I kept the brass key in my pocket.
For the door she cannot open.
The words repeated in my mind with every step.
Who was she now?
Dr. Evelyn Mercer?
Or someone else entirely?
Ronan walked beside me in silence.
Normally, one of us would have filled the quiet with an argument.
A sarcastic remark.
A challenge.
Tonight, neither of us had the energy.
Marcus finally broke the silence.
"The emergency board meeting started twenty-three minutes ago."
He checked his watch.
"If Chairman Hale follows company bylaws, they'll vote in less than forty."
Inspector Mara Voss frowned.
"Can he legally remove Adrian?"
Marcus hesitated.
"If he convinces enough directors that the chairman is mentally or physically unfit..."
He looked at me apologetically.
"...yes."
Daniel kicked a loose stone across the tunnel.
"So exposing your identity would be enough."
No one answered.
Because everyone knew he was right.
If the board discovered I was an Omega before I could prove the conspiracy...
Everything would be over.
Not because I had failed.
Because society had already decided someone like me could never lead.
I felt Ronan glance toward me.
"You all right?"
"I will be."
"That wasn't my question."
For a moment, I considered giving him the usual answer.
A sharp comment.
A dismissal.
Instead, I told the truth.
"I'm tired."
The words surprised even me.
"Tired of pretending."
Silence settled between us again.
Then Ronan spoke quietly enough that only I could hear.
"You don't have to pretend around me anymore."
I looked at him.
His expression was completely serious.
No mockery.
No pity.
Just quiet certainty.
Something in my chest tightened.
Before I could respond, Daniel raised his hand.
"Stop."
Everyone froze.
Ahead, the tunnel curved sharply to the left.
A faint beam of light swept across the wall.
Flashlights.
Someone was waiting.
Inspector Voss motioned for everyone to extinguish their lanterns.
Darkness swallowed the tunnel.
The footsteps ahead stopped.
Whoever was there had heard us.
Voss leaned toward one of her officers.
"Count."
The officer silently held up three fingers.
Three people.
Ronan crouched beside the wall, studying the dust with his flashlight covered by his palm.
"They've been standing there for at least five minutes."
"Ambush?" I whispered.
"No."
He pointed toward faint cigarette ash scattered on the floor.
"They're waiting."
"For us?"
"I think so."
Daniel slowly drew a compact pistol.
Mr. Rowan remained strangely calm.
"They're not Hale's people."
"How do you know?" Voss asked.
"They're too patient."
Before anyone could question that strange answer, a voice echoed around the bend.
"Chairman Vale."
A woman's voice.
Clear.
Confident.
"I know you're there."
We exchanged cautious glances.
"I'd rather not waste time."
The voice continued.
"So let's avoid shooting each other."
Inspector Voss tightened her grip on her weapon.
"Identify yourself."
A brief pause.
Then—
"My name is Lena Mercer."
Every head turned toward Dr. Dawson.
His eyes widened.
"Mercer..."
The woman stepped slowly around the corner with both hands visible.
She couldn't have been older than twenty-eight.
Dark auburn hair tied neatly behind her head.
Gray tactical clothing instead of a business suit.
No insignia.
No visible fear.
Behind her stood two equally alert companions.
She stopped several meters away.
"My team has no intention of harming you."
Daniel frowned.
"Mercer..."
She nodded once.
"I'm Elias Mercer's younger sister."
The tunnel became completely silent.
Marcus whispered,
"Elias never mentioned having family."
"He wasn't allowed to."
Her answer carried no anger.
Only sadness.
She looked directly at me.
"My brother died trying to reach you."
"I know."
"No."
She slowly removed a sealed envelope from inside her jacket.
"You know he called."
She held out the envelope.
"You don't know why."
I didn't move.
Neither did Ronan.
Lena smiled faintly.
"Good."
"What?"
"You're finally learning not to trust strangers."
She carefully placed the envelope on the tunnel floor.
Then stepped back.
"My brother asked me to deliver this only if he failed."
Ronan quietly stopped me before I could walk forward.
"Wait."
He picked up a loose bolt from the ground and gently rolled it toward the envelope.
Nothing happened.
No explosion.
No hidden wire.
No movement.
Only then did he retrieve it.
The envelope was addressed in careful handwriting.
To Adrian Vale.
Beneath it...
In smaller letters...
Read this before you trust Dr. Evelyn Mercer.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
I looked up.
"Lena..."
But she was already retreating into the darkness.
"We'll meet again," she called softly.
"When you've decided who the real enemy is."
Within seconds, she and her companions disappeared into the maze of tunnels.
Marcus looked at me.
"Are we following them?"
I lowered my eyes to the sealed envelope in my hands.
The handwriting belonged to Elias Mercer.
The same man who had died before he could speak to me.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
I broke the seal.
Inside was a single folded page.
Only one sentence had been written.
If Evelyn Mercer says she came to save Genesis... she's lying. She came back to finish it.
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