INICIAR SESIÓNSantos made more calls. Frantic. Urgent. Verifying the threat.I watched the screens. Tactical teams regrouping. Treating wounded. The compound sat dark. Silent. Waiting.My phone buzzed again. Another message from Catherine.More photos. Closer shots this time. The bombs. Clear. Detailed. Professional placement.Then a video. Thirty seconds. Inside one of the safe houses.Women huddled together. Terrified. Children crying. A red light blinking on the device mounted to the wall. Timer counting down.Audio played. Catherine's voice. Calm. Pleasant. Deadly."Hello ladies. Don't be alarmed. This is just a message for Aria Winters. Your director. Your protector. Your hero. She has a choice to make. Come trade herself for you. Or watch you all die. She has thirty minutes. Starting now."The timer on screen showed: 29:47. Counting down.The video ended.Santos hung up. Face ashen. "It's real. All of it. Three safe houses. Chicago. Boston. Philadelphia. Forty-seven women and children total.
The operative spoke quietly. Deliberately. Like he was crossing a line he could never uncross."Catherine has a compound. Upstate New York. Near the Canadian border. About twenty miles south of Massena."Santos burst in. "Keep talking.""It's remote. Private property. Two hundred acres. Gated. Heavy security. She's been using it for three months. Since you started closing in on The Covenant's New York operations.""Address?""I don't have an exact address. It's off-grid. Private road. No mail delivery. But I can give you coordinates."Santos handed him paper and pen. The operative wrote. Numbers. Latitude. Longitude."How many people with her?""At least twelve. Maybe more. All armed. All trained. Former military. Mercenaries. The best money can buy.""What's the compound layout?""Main house. Three stories. Stone. Built in the twenties. Guest house. Garage. Storage buildings. Bunker underneath the main house. Reinforced. That's where Catherine stays mostly. Underground. Protected.""
The helicopter ride took thirty minutes. Longest thirty minutes of my life.We landed at a federal facility. Somewhere in New Jersey. Secure. Underground parking. Heavy security.The captured operative was taken immediately. FBI agents surrounding him. Medical team waiting."Gunshot wound. Side. Non-fatal but needs treatment," Dante said. His voice rough. Damaged from the fight.They loaded the operative onto a stretcher. Wheeled him inside.We followed. Down concrete hallways. Fluorescent lights. Sterile. Cold.A conference room. Large. Empty except for a table and chairs."Wait here," Santos said. "Medical will check everyone. Then debriefing."He left. Door closing with a heavy click.We sat in silence. Sienna still holding Sofia. The little girl finally asleep. Exhausted by terror.Dante examined his throat in the reflection of the window. Purple bruises. Deep. Fingerprints visible where hands had crushed.Marcus held my hand. Neither of us speaking.I looked down at my dress. Nav
The darkness lasted five seconds.Then backup generators hummed to life. Emergency lights flickering on. Harsh red glow flooding the house.But five seconds was enough. Enough confusion. Enough chaos. Enough advantage.Santos was on his radio immediately. "All positions report.""East perimeter clear.""South perimeter clear.""West perimeter, movement detected.""North perimeter, multiple contacts advancing."The gunfire erupted before he could respond. Sharp cracks splitting the air. Automatic weapons. Outside. Close."Contact! North side! Three hostiles!"Marcus pushed me to the floor. His weight crushing. Protective."Stay down. Don't move."Dante already had his weapon drawn. Shouting to his team. "Defensive positions! Windows and doors! No one gets inside!"His men scattered. Professional. Fast. Taking positions at every entry point.Sienna grabbed Sofia. The little girl woke screaming. Confused. Terrified by the noise."Mama!""Shh, baby. I've got you."More gunfire. Sustained
Two PM arrived faster than expected.Guests filled the chairs. Thirty people. Not many. But enough. Each one searched. Vetted. Background checked by FBI.Foundation board members in the front row. Dr. Morgan beside Rachel who would officiate. Schaffer in the back, still under protection. Looking older. Tired. But present.Dante's full security team positioned throughout the property. Twelve men. Armed. Professional. Watching the tree line. Watching the single access road. Watching everything.FBI snipers invisible in the woods. Santos coordinating through his earpiece. Emergency helicopter on standby two miles away.A wedding. A fortress. Both.I stood in the small bedroom. Looking at myself in the mirror. Navy blue dress. Simple. Tea length. Not white. Not traditional. Not bridal.On my terms.Sienna adjusted my hair. Her own dress gray. Elegant. Hands shaking slightly."You look beautiful," she said."I look terrified.""That too. But beautiful."Sofia spun in her flower girl dress.
The night before the wedding, I couldn't sleep.Tomorrow. Marcus and I would stand in front of people. Make it official. Legal. Real.Despite Catherine. Despite The Covenant. Despite everything trying to stop us.I stood at the loft window. Looking at the city below. Lights stretching forever. Somewhere out there, Catherine was watching. Planning. Waiting.Marcus found me at two AM. "You should rest. Big day tomorrow.""Can't. Too wired. Too nervous.""About the wedding or the threat?""Both. Equally."He wrapped his arms around me from behind. "We'll get through tomorrow. Together. Whatever happens.""You sound confident.""I'm faking it. For you."I almost laughed. "That's honest at least."At three AM, Dante called. Voice tight. Urgent."We have a problem. Get everyone up. Now."Five minutes later, we gathered in the living room. Marcus. Me. Sienna. Sofia sleeping in her mother's arms. Rachel, staying overnight to help with morning preparations.Dante stood at the center. Holding s
We ran. Burke's body behind us. Blood pooling on concrete.FBI agents converged from all sides. Shouting. Weapons drawn.Marcus pulled me to the car. Shoved me in. Drove fast."Sniper," he said. His hands were shaking on the wheel. "Professional. Long range.""They killed him before he could talk."
Detective Santos called at dawn. Marcus put him on speaker."The Covenant is meeting. Tomorrow night. Eight PM. Westchester property."Everyone gathered around the phone. Still half-asleep but alert."How many members?" Marcus asked."At least thirty. Including Julian Cross."I sat up straighter. T
I didn't sleep. Spent the whole night weighing options. Justice versus revenge. Punishment versus results.At nine AM, the prosecutor called. Jennifer Marks. On speaker phone in the cabin's living room.Everyone gathered. Marcus. Rachel. Sienna. Dante. Victor. Even Sofia was there, sleeping in Sien
Everyone else went to bed early. Exhaustion finally winning.Sienna with Sofia in the nursery. Dante keeping watch outside her door.Rachel in the guest room. Already asleep when I'd passed by.Victor in his room. Coughing. The cancer getting worse.Just Marcus and me remained. On the porch. Stars







