The streets of Hanoi were a haze of smoke and destruction, the stench of burning buildings and the acrid taste of fear hanging heavy in the air. Mira moved quickly through the alleyways, her heart pounding as she navigated the chaos. Her mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, but one truth stood at the forefront: Nguyen had used her. Everything she had worked for, all the secrets she had fed him, had been turned against her—and against the Coalition. She had to warn Sebastian and the others before it was too late.
Mira’s footsteps were swift, but with every passing moment, the sense of danger grew sharper. She had been in tight situations before, but this felt different. She wasn’t just evading the enemy; she was running from her own mistake, the betrayal she had unwittingly participated in. The truth that Nguyen had manipulated her—no, controlled her—was gnawing at her, threatening to undo her every belief.