CHAPTER 49

Kael’s POV

Vera was already awake, still tied up in front of me after being brutally beaten by that devil. It brought back old memories I had fought hard to bury.

She wasn’t the type to stay down for long.

I turned my head slightly, and our eyes met.

“They won’t kill us, at least not yet,” Vera said quietly.

I didn’t answer immediately.

Because she was right.

“They just want to break us, hopefully to work for them,” I said finally.

Vera let out a small breath, like she already knew that.

“Then they also know we won’t. It’s not possible.”

I looked at her.

“Exactly.”

Outside the room, footsteps passed, like someone walking a loop they had done a hundred times already.

That was the first thing I clocked.

Routine.

Routine meant weakness.

Vera shifted slightly.

“I don’t like this place,” she muttered.

“You’ve never liked it, Princess,” I said.

She turned her head toward me.

“You always talk like this when you’re planning something.”

I didn’t answer at first. My eyes moved to the camera in the corner. Old model. Whoever built this place didn’t expect someone like me to be inside it again.

That was their first mistake.

Vera followed my gaze.

“You’re counting exits already.”

“Not exits,” I said. “Patterns.”

She frowned slightly.

A guard outside laughed once. Just once, like nothing serious was happening in here.

That laugh told me more than their weapons ever could.

They were comfortable.

Too comfortable.

Vera leaned forward, voice lower now.

“There are three rotations. I’ve been watching.”

I glanced at her and smirked slightly.

“You noticed too.”

“Yeah.”

A silence followed.

This was what we used to do before everything went loud. Before survival replaced thinking.

Think first. Move later.

Not the other way around.

---

The guard came again.

Same timing.

That meant I was right.

I watched the shadow move under the door gap.

Then I counted.

In my head.

Vera shifted.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“That thing where you stop listening to me.”

I glanced at her.

“I’m listening.”

“No, you’re not.”

She wasn’t wrong.

But I didn’t correct her.

People don’t usually realize they’re being watched inside their own system.

---

Lucian’s POV

Aaron was pacing again.

Lina stood near the table, watching the map like she was trying to pull answers out of it by force.

And me, I was just watching everything shift in real time.

“They’re not staying still,” Lina said suddenly.

Aaron stopped.

“What does that mean exactly?”

“They are about to move,” she replied.

I looked at her properly this time.

“Explain it in normal words.”

She hesitated.

Then pointed at the map.

“This system… it’s layered. Movement routes, guard rotations, blind spots. It’s built like a habit.”

Aaron scoffed.

“It’s a prison. Not a puzzle.”

Lina shook her head.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Silence hit the room for a second.

I didn’t interrupt her.

Aaron noticed my expression.

“You see something,” he said.

“Yes,” I replied.

“What.”

I stared at the map a little longer.

“They’re not trapped inside it.”

Lina nodded slightly.

“They’re adapting to it.”

Aaron let out a frustrated breath.

“That’s not possible in real time.”

But even he didn’t sound convinced anymore.

Because we both knew Kael didn’t operate like most people.

He never did.

---

Kael’s POV

The guard came again.

Same timing.

That meant I was right.

They were predictable, or they are just stupid and dumb, too bad for my Uncle.

I watched the shadow move under the door gap.

Then I counted.

In my head.

-----

Vera’s POV

Damn… breaking my fingers to twist out of the string was easy but still painful as hell, but I didn’t have the time to react because we needed to move fast.

“You still hate doing that.”

“I don’t have time to hate anything right now,” she said.

Then I used my teeth and wrist to loosen the rest.

We just had 2 minutes before the next shift changes.

Pain radiated through my body, reminding me of the part few hours of continuous torture by Kael’s uncle.

I can’t believe it… his uncle.

What the hell.

I still remember the pain that washed through his face when he found out his uncle was behind the organization.

I looked up when I heard the crack from breaking his fingers and smirked at him. Fuck… even with blood all over his face, he still looked hot… damn.

“Princess, I know I’m hot, but really… right now… did you even hear what I said?” Kael said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Blushing, I looked away.

Focus Vera, focus. What the hell is wrong with me.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I asked.

“How many people do you think they left behind to guard us?”

“Emmm… knowing we are Black Codes,” I said, “I would say about 250 or more.”

“I think so too… we can take them, but you need to pop back your fingers,” he said, looking down at my hand.

Just then the door opened and two guys came in, one holding a gun and the other two cups of water which dropped from his hand seeing we were loose.

Before they could even make a sound, Kael had already moved and broke their necks, taking me by surprise with how fast he was.

“Ready, princess?” he said, throwing the gun for me.

“Let’s do this.”

---

The hallway filled quick.

A shot cracked.

Vera ducked.

I pulled her back.

“You good?” I asked.

She gave me a look. “Ask again and I’ll break your other hand.”

“Noted.”

A guard rushed in from the side.

Vera took him down before I reached her.

She didn’t even look at me after.

“Exit changed,” she said.

“How do you know?”

“That wall wasn’t reinforced before.”

She was right.

I exhaled once.

“Unfortunate.”

Vera glanced at me. “That your reaction?”

“No.”

“What then?”

“Annoyed.”

That made her almost laugh.

We split instinctively.

Vera left. I right.

One guard grabbed her arm.

I moved.

Pulled him off her.

He dropped hard.

She didn’t even pause.

Just adjusted her wrist.

“We’re losing time,” she said.

“I know.”

A shot again.

Closer.

I grabbed her wrist.

She looked at me.

For a second, nothing else existed in that space.

Then I said, “Left exit.”

She nodded.

We ran.