Sophia’s POVThe vault’s ceiling collapsed, dust and rock swallowing us as Liam’s desperate shout—“Sophia!”—faded into the dark. My heart pounded, the journal and three drives clutched against my chest, their weight a tether to my father’s cipher—my memories of Orion’s stars, the key to the Syndicate’s downfall, now broadcast to the world. The microchip from the journal had stopped the turrets, but the stranger’s face—Liam’s face, older, colder, his gun aimed at me—burned in my mind. Liam’s father, a man he’d never spoken of, stood at the tunnel’s entrance, his voice chilling: “You should’ve stayed out of this, son.” Liam’s arms were around me, his blood soaking my hospital gown, his love a fire that burned through the chaos, though his Syndicate ties—and now this familial betrayal—shattered my trust. My mother pinned Dr. Ellis, her rifle steady, while my uncle, my mother’s brother, fired at the scarred woman, who ducked into the shadows. Vanessa and Elena, wounded but fierce, guarded
Last Updated : 2025-08-19 Read more