LOGINLogan's POVThe service tunnel was narrower than I expected.Concrete walls pressed in from both sides, damp with decades of moisture. Rusted pipes ran overhead, dripping steadily onto the cracked floor. Every footstep echoed through the darkness, competing with the distant roar of the fire spreading above us."Keep moving," I ordered.Two officers carefully pushed Eleanor's bed over the uneven ground while the medic walked beside her, monitoring the oxygen tank.John was only a step behind me, carrying two of the document cases.Neither of us spoke, there wasn't time. Another explosion rumbled somewhere overhead and dust sifted from the ceiling, coating our shoulders."They're bringing the whole place down," one of the officers muttered."They're trying to bury the evidence," I replied.The words tasted bitter. Someone had spent years protecting these secrets. Now that we'd found them, they were willing to destroy an entire building to erase the truth.I tightened my grip on the re
Logan's POVSmoke thickened by the second.It curled through the ventilation shafts in slow gray ribbons, turning the beam of every flashlight into a hazy tunnel of light.Nobody panicked and that was the only reason we still had a chance."Two officers with Eleanor, nobody leaves her,” I ordered and the medic nodded immediately."We'll stay with her,” one of them said.I looked at the brass key resting in my palm. It was old, older than everything else in this room.Years of use had worn its edges smooth, yet someone had polished it recently. Someone had expected it to be used again."Eleanor," I said, kneeling beside her once more."The cabinet. Where is it?" I asked.She lifted a trembling finger toward the endless rows of steel filing cabinets."Back wall..." She added and struggled to breathe."Third row..." She said and another cough interrupted her."...last cabinet,” she finally said."Come on,” John said, as he started moving.Three officers followed as we hurried deeper into
Audrey's POVThere were days when silence felt peaceful. Today wasn't one of them, something was wrong.I couldn't explain why. Nothing had happened, there was no alarming phone calls, no frantic messages, yet a strange heaviness had settled over me the moment I woke up.I stood in Logan's office, staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking downtown Los Angeles. The city bustled below, oblivious to the storm that seemed to be gathering around us.Behind me, the television played on mute. Every news channel was still discussing the recent developments surrounding the Hargrove family.About the missing heiress, corporate scandal, and all. The headlines had become impossible to escape.I reached for the remote and switched the television off. The silence that followed wasn't much better. After a while, a gentle knock sounded on the office door."Come in,” I muttered.Miss Martha stepped inside with Nia skipping happily beside her. The moment Nia saw me, she smiled."Mama!" N
Logan's POVEvery instinct in my body screamed at me to force the door open. Instead, I held up a fist and everyone behind me stopped. Silence settled over the tunnel once again, as the faint voice came a second time.It was weak, broken, and impossible to make out. John's breathing grew heavier beside me."You heard it too," John whispered and I nodded once."It wasn't mechanical,” I muttered."No,” John replied."It was a person,” I added."I can force it,” the officer working on the keypad said, as he glanced over his shoulder."Too loud," I replied."We don't know what's waiting on the other side,” he muttered.He returned to the keypad, pulling a small electronic device from his vest.The tiny screen flickered to life as wires disappeared beneath the access panel."Give me three minutes,” the officer said.I looked back down the tunnel and there was nothing. There were no footsteps, there was no movement. Everywhere was just too quiet.It was almost as if whoever had built this
Logan's POV The order rippled across every radio channel."Charlie Team, maintain visual, no contact, no confrontation,” I ordered."Understood," came the immediate reply."If the man with the backpack is only carrying equipment, then he's expendable,” I said, turning to John."You think he's a courier,” John said, as he frowned."I think he's the lowest person in the chain,” I replied."And the higher-ups?" John asked."They won't expose themselves unless they believe the route is secure,” I muttered."The jammer just went offline,” Kimmie said, looking up from her laptop.Every head snapped toward her immediately."What?" I muttered and she refreshed the screen."The interference stopped six seconds ago,” she said and I stared at the monitor."They're moving,” I muttered."Or they've finished what they came to do," John said.Neither possibility was encouraging. The technician monitoring the ground sensors spoke again."Movement,” the technician said."Where?" I asked."The western
Logan's POVBy noon, every member of the surveillance team was in position.The abandoned psychiatric hospital looked exactly like the photographs had suggested, forgotten by the world.Nature had reclaimed most of it, vines climbed cracked brick walls, broken windows stared back like empty eyes.The iron gates had collapsed years ago, leaving only rusted hinges swaying in the breeze.From a distance, it looked lifeless. That was precisely what bothered me.Places that were truly abandoned didn't consume fuel every night. They didn't receive armored vehicles and they certainly didn't attract Victor Hale."Status,” I said as I lowered the binoculars.The command crackled through my earpiece."Team Alpha in position.""Bravo in position.""Charlie covering the eastern access road."I looked toward the tree line. John stood a few feet away, studying the property through his own binoculars.Neither of us had spoken much during the drive. There wasn't much left to say.The truth was somewh
Matteo's POVI hated silence. Not ordinary silence, not the kind that settled over a room after a meeting ended.I hated the silence that came when people stopped fearing you, the silence that came when people stopped caring what you thought, the silence that came when you were losing.My office ha
Audrey's POVThe drive to the Hargrove estate was one of the longest drives of my life.Not because of traffic, not because of distance, but because every minute gave me another opportunity to change my mind.I could tell Logan knew it too. Twice, he glanced at me. Three times, he opened his mouth
Audrey's POVI barely slept.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the DNA report. Every time I drifted off, I heard John's voice. “We believe you're our daughter.”By three in the morning, I had given up pretending sleep was going to happen.By four, I was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea tha
Audrey's POVI didn't remember leaving the dining room. One moment I was sitting there staring at John and Elena.The next, I was standing on a balcony overlooking the city lightsCold air moved against my skin and I welcomed it. I would welcome anything that helped me think, anything that helped m







