The phone buzzed, and the words on the screen burned themselves into my mind.
We’re still watching.
I felt the weight of them, as if the very walls around me were closing in, pressing me into a space too small for all the secrets Helena had left behind.
Clara’s hand on my cheek was the only thing grounding me in that moment, her eyes dark with worry. “Bela, are you okay?” she asked softly, but I barely heard her.
Evelyn moved toward the phone, her fingers brushing over the screen, reading the message again. "It’s not over," she murmured.
Marcelo’s eyes were sharp, scanning the room. The gunshot still echoed in the air, but he didn't seem fazed. “We need to get out of here. Now."
I swallowed hard, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. "No. We’re not leaving. Not yet."
Evelyn looked up, a brow raised. “You want to find out who’s behind this? After everything?”
“I have to,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm inside. “Helena wasn’t the mastermind. She was just a piece in a much bigger game. And I’m done playing their way.”
Clara’s hand slipped into mine. “I’m with you, no matter what.”
The loyalty in her eyes, the trust, it steadied me.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that the world was shifting beneath me, that every decision I made now would lead us further into darkness.
We moved quickly through the house, checking every corner, every room. The silence pressed in on us, but it felt wrong—too quiet.
Marcelo was the first to break it. “We should leave, Bela. They’re watching. You know it.”
“I know,” I said, but I didn’t move.
Evelyn approached me, her expression unreadable. “You’re playing with fire, and I’m not sure it’s something we’ll survive this time.”
“We don’t survive by running,” I said, my voice firmer now. “We survive by fighting.”
Clara squeezed my hand. "We fight together."
I nodded, feeling the weight of the decision settle on my shoulders. "Whoever’s behind this, I’ll find them. And I’ll end it."
Just as we prepared to leave, the house shook with the sound of an explosion. The ground beneath our feet trembled, and I heard the deafening sound of glass breaking.
The door was blown open.
Helena’s men, the ones who were still loyal, had arrived.
And they were ready to finish what she’d started.
The front door was wide open, and smoke filled the air, swirling like a dark omen. We had no time to think, no time to plan. The world had already decided for us.
I pulled my gun from its holster, feeling the familiar weight in my hand. Clara stayed close, Marcelo positioned himself in front of us, his eyes sharp as ever.
Evelyn moved with her usual calm, but there was something different in her gaze. It was as if she knew the game had changed, that this wasn’t just another fight. This was the beginning of something much worse.
“They’ll be here any minute,” Evelyn said, her tone cold, calculated. “We need to make a choice, now.”
“Fight,” I said, gripping the gun tighter. "It's the only choice we have."
Just as the last word left my mouth, they appeared. Dark figures in the smoke, weapons raised, stepping into the house like shadows.
I didn’t wait.
I shot.
The blast rang out, and one of them dropped.
But there were more.
More than I expected.
And they weren’t alone.
I turned to Evelyn. “We need backup.”
She nodded, her phone already out, fingers flying across the screen. “We’ll have help, but it won’t be enough if we don’t move fast.”
I didn’t need to hear more.
The battle was on.
As the fight escalated, I felt the shift. It wasn’t just the enemies closing in, it was something else.
Clara moved next to me, her gun firing at a man who had appeared from the shadows. But something was off. Her movements were... too sharp, too precise.
And then I saw it.
The glint in her eyes.
I froze.
“Clara, no,” I whispered, the words barely escaping my throat.
But she didn’t hesitate.
She aimed at Marcelo.
And in that moment, I realized—Clara was one of them.
I couldn’t believe it. The betrayal hit me like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs.
She turned the gun toward me. “I’m sorry, Bela. But it’s the only way.”
My heart thundered in my chest as I looked at her. “Clara, you can’t—”
But before I could finish, Evelyn reacted, throwing herself in front of me, knocking Clara off balance.
The gunshot rang out.
Clara stumbled back, a gasp escaping her lips as she looked at the wound on her side.
“I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “I never meant—”
The chaos of the room didn’t stop. People were still fighting. But I couldn’t focus on anything but Clara’s broken expression.
Marcelo turned, his gaze meeting mine, and for the first time, I saw the depth of the conflict in his eyes.
“You didn’t know,” he said softly. “None of us did.”
The realization hit me hard. Clara had been a sleeper agent. A plant, from the very beginning.
And now, she was paying the price.
The game had changed. And we were no longer just fighting for survival.
We were fighting for our lives.
The room was chaos. People were running, firing.
Clara was on the ground, her breath shallow. Evelyn was with her, but her eyes were cold, focused on something else. Something far more dangerous.
I turned to Marcelo. “We have to stop this. Now.”
He nodded, but his face was drawn. “There’s more coming. And they won’t stop until they have you.”
“Then I’ll finish it,” I said, my voice steady with purpose.
But as we prepared to leave the house, to face whatever was waiting for us outside, my phone buzzed.
A message.
And just like that, the truth hit me.
It’s not over yet.
A chill ran through my spine. The real mastermind was still out there.
And they were watching.