chapter 13
The cold in Geneva hit different
Not like the chill back home
This one moved quiet and sharp
Like it knew how to slice through memory without bleeding
Isla stepped onto the tarmac
Hands in her coat
Eyes scanning the edges of a city she did not trust
Damien beside her
All shadow and silence
Focused
Distant
The car waiting was matte gray
Unmarked
Driver didn't speak
Damien gave the address
A name Isla hadn't heard before
But the numbers made sense
Offshore vault district
Where secrets were safer than people
You sure he's here she asked
He nodded once
He won't run
How do you know
Because he thinks I won't kill him
The streets blurred past
Old money
New glass
A city built on the backs of the quiet
Isla pulled out her tablet
Watched the blinking light of another transfer
Same shell company
Same Zurich loop
It moved again
Three hours ago
Someone knew they were coming
The building was glass and steel
Too clean
Too calm
Security looked up
But no one stopped them
Damien knew the path
Office 7B
He opened the door
No knock
No warning
Marcus Vale sat behind a desk
Silver hair
Sharper eyes
He didn't look surprised
Just smiled slow
Like someone already playing the next move
Damien he said
Marcus
Isla stepped inside
His gaze flicked to her
You brought company
She's not company Damien said
She's the reason this place is still standing
Isla dropped her tablet on the table
Zurich
Lagos
Geneva
Same trail
Same hand
Your name's on the transfers she said
I found it buried, but not deep enough
Marcus didn't deny it
Just leaned back
I suppose there's no point pretending
You worked with Cole Damien said, voice low
You helped him vanish
I helped him survive Marcus replied
There's a difference
You watched our families burn
I kept the fire from spreading You just didn't notice
Isla stepped forward
Where is he now
Marcus smiled again
Gone But not far He's building something bigger
Damien's hands curled at his sides
I trusted you. My father trusted you
And I trusted no one That's why I'm still here
"Let's go"
She followed without a word
But the chill didn't leave her skin
Not even when the doors closed behind them
They didn't speak in the elevator
The silence wasn't empty
It was full of everything that hadn't been said yet
Isla kept her eyes on the floor numbers
Each blink of light felt heavier than the last
Damien stood beside her
Unmoving
But his jaw was tight
Like he was holding something back
Again
When the doors opened
The air outside was colder
Sharper
They stepped into the night like it might swallow them
Neither of them flinched
"He's stalling," Isla said finally
"Marcus knows more. He's playing us."
Damien didn't deny it
"He gave us enough to keep moving. That's what he does. Feeds just enough truth to keep control."
"And you're okay with that?"
"No. But I know how to use it."
They reached the car
She slid into the passenger seat
Watched her reflection in the side mirror
Eyes she barely recognized anymore
Eyes learning how to stop trusting
Damien got behind the wheel
Started the engine without looking at her
"Zurich," he said
"He mentioned it for a reason. Cole's using the banks there to layer the money trail."
"So we follow it?"
"We trace the pattern. Then we break it."
Isla opened her tablet again
Her fingers moved fast
Precise
The screen lit up with the same looping numbers
Same route
But now—something new
A name
A new shell
She blinked
"Damien," she said, tilting the screen
"This one wasn't in the last chain. It's fresh. Opened yesterday."
He glanced at it
Eyes narrowing
"That's not Cole's style. It's too direct."
"Then someone wants us to find it."
He didn't speak for a second
Then—
"It's a message."
"A trap?"
"Maybe. Or maybe someone inside wants out."
She leaned back
The night stretched outside the window
Geneva falling behind
Too quiet
Too clean
"You trust anyone in this?" she asked
"I trust you."
The words landed too fast
Too sharp
She didn't look at him
Not right away
"Why?"
"Because you see what I miss. Because you don't run when things get ugly."
She swallowed
Didn't answer
Didn't need to
The new address led them to a private office block on the outskirts
No signs
No lights on the third floor
But Isla's code broke the door in under a minute
They moved like they had before
Silent
In sync
Two shadows chasing something darker
Inside the office
A single folder sat on the desk
Plain
No name
But the logo was burned into the paper
Cole's mark
Damien opened it slowly
Page by page
Bank records
Flight logs
A photo
Recent
Clear
Cole
Alive
Smiling
Standing with someone else
A woman Isla didn't recognize
But her chest clenched anyway
Because the smile wasn't forced
And the signature on the last page
Was hers
"Isla," Damien said slowly
But she was already reaching for the page
Already feeling the room spin
That signature
It was her name
Her handwriting
But she had never written it
"They're using you," Damien said
Soft now
Careful
"No," she whispered
"They're framing me"
The sound of footsteps in the hallway snapped them back to the moment
Too many
Too close
Damien shoved the folder into his coat
Grabbed her hand
"Time to run"
But Isla wasn't running
Not really
She was chasing now
And for the first time
She wanted to catch whoever was behind it
Even if it killed her
Absolutely
Episode 18
Still sharp
Still tense
But now the world is watching them
And the shadows are moving closer
They barely made it out the back
One alarm
One second too slow
And they would've been boxed in
Damien's hand stayed locked with hers as they ran through the alley
Cold air slicing through their coats
Footsteps behind them
But fading
When they reached the car
Neither spoke
Not yet
Not until the silence meant safety
Isla stared straight ahead
Breath shallow
"The signature," she said
"It's perfect. Even the loop on the S."
"They had access to something," Damien said
"Something close to you. Or someone."
Her stomach twisted
"They're making me part of this. Not just chasing. Complicit."
"Which means the endgame isn't just about Cole. It's about destroying you."
"And you."
His knuckles were white on the wheel
"They already tried."
Back at the hotel
Everything felt different
Too quiet
Like the walls were listening
Damien locked the door twice
Drew the blinds
Checked the cameras he installed the night before
"We can't stay long," he said
"Not with that signature in play. If they leak it—"
"They'll bury me," Isla finished
"And no one will ask questions."
She sat on the edge of the bed
Still holding the photo
Cole with the woman
Smiling like he hadn't shattered lives
"He's not hiding," she said
"Not anymore. He wants us to see him."
Damien was still watching the cameras
"I think he wants us to follow. And fall."
The folder sat on the table
Open
Heavy
Isla reached for the last page again
The flight log
The timestamp
The signature
Then she saw it
Small
Barely a scratch
But it was there
A second signature underneath hers
Faint
Coded
She pulled it up on her screen
Magnified it
Traced it
Then froze
"Damien…"
He turned
Saw her face
Moved closer
"What is it?"
She pointed to the faint letters
"I've seen this before. It's not a name. It's a location."
"Where?"
She typed fast
Overlayed the letters on a map
Matched the loop of each character to a grid
One point lit up
"Lisbon," she said
"It's hidden in the ink. Whoever forged my signature wanted us to find it."
Damien exhaled
"So not Cole."
"Someone else. Maybe someone on the inside."
A knock at the door snapped their heads up
Sharp
Twice
Then silence
Isla reached for the gun Damien left on the nightstand
He moved to the side of the door
Silent
Measured
A voice spoke through the crack
Female
Calm
"You need to leave. Now. They're already tracing the footage."
"Who are you?" Isla called back
"You'll find me in Lisbon," the voice replied
Then footsteps
Fading fast
Isla rushed to the window
Caught a flash of a dark coat disappearing into the street
"She knows," Damien said
"And she's scared."
"We follow her?"
"We follow the signature."
Isla packed fast
The photo
The folder
The truth that kept shifting under their feet
She paused at the door
Looked back once
This was where it changed
No more waiting
No more reacting
Whoever forged that signature knew her better than she wanted to admit
And whoever that woman was
She wasn't working alone
As they disappeared into the night
One thing settled sharp in Isla's chest
Lisbon wasn't just a location
Lisbon didn't hide in shadows
It danced in them
Narrow streets
Golden light spilling over old stone
And somewhere beneath it all
Another layer of lies waiting to be unearthed
They arrived just after noon
No time to rest
No time to think
Damien had already secured a flat on the edge of Bairro Alto
Top floor
No neighbors
No eyes
Isla moved through it without speaking
Checked every corner
Every camera
Every window
She didn't trust this city yet
But her gut said they had to be here
Damien stood by the window
Watching people pass like they might be carrying secrets in their coat pockets
"You think she'll show?" he asked
"She didn't risk warning us just to vanish," Isla said
"She wants us to find her"
"Or she wants Cole to know we're close"
Isla dropped the new file on the table
The signature
The photo
The woman
"I've seen her before," she said quietly
Not in person
But somewhere
Damien moved beside her
"Where?"
"I don't know yet. But she's not just a message. She's a memory."
Outside, the bells from a nearby church echoed
Soft
Distant
But something about them felt off
Like they were counting down
That night
They moved
Damien followed the financial trail
Shell accounts pinging from inside Portugal
Someone was still moving money
Still feeding the network
Isla followed faces
Cross-checked the photo with old archives
Old security footage
And finally—
She found it
Four years ago
A gala in Prague
Finance summit
Damien's father speaking
In the background
The woman
Same eyes
Same dress
Same stillness
She zoomed in
Heart thudding
Damien walked in behind her
Saw the image
"I know her," he said
Voice quiet
Like the wind had just been knocked out of him
"Who is she?"
"She worked for my father's private counsel. She wasn't just legal. She handled internal risk."
"Name?"
He hesitated
"Vivienne Ward."
Isla stared at the photo
"Vivienne left the firm the same year your father died."
"Disappeared," Damien corrected
"No resignation. No trace. We thought she was silenced."
"But she's not," Isla said
"She's the one pulling strings now. Or warning us from inside the web."
"She's both."
A knock came again
Sharp
This time—on the back door
Damien's hand was on his weapon in a breath
Isla opened the laptop camera feed
Vivienne
Alone
No fear in her eyes
Just exhaustion
And something colder
Something final
They let her in
She didn't waste time
Sat down like she belonged there
And dropped a small black drive on the table
"You have fifteen hours," she said
"After that, I disappear again."
"Where's Cole?" Isla asked
Vivienne tilted her head
"He's not the center anymore. He's the fuse."
"What does that mean?"
Vivienne looked between them
"You're not chasing a man. You're chasing a detonation."
The room fell silent
Heavy
Real
Vivienne leaned forward
"I helped build this. I stayed quiet. But I won't let him bury you to protect it."
"Why us?" Isla asked
"Because you're the only ones still stupid enough to care."
And then she stood
Walked to the door
Paused once
"When the drive opens," she said, "don't blink."
Then she was gone
And the silence that followed
Was louder than any truth they'd heard yet
Perfect
Episode 20
We stay in Isla and Damien's POV—tighter now
Closer
Because whatever's on that drive isn't just intel
It's personal
And it's about to crack the space between them
The door clicked shut behind Vivienne
And the room held its breath
Damien hadn't moved
Still staring at the drive on the table
Like it might bite
Isla sat down slowly
Her hands were steady
But only just
"She looked like she hadn't slept in years," Isla said
Low
Measured
"But her eyes were clear."
"She's scared," Damien said
"But not of us."
Isla looked at him
"You trust her?"
"No. But I believe her."
Silence again
Only this time it felt like the moment before a storm
Still
Charged
Waiting
She plugged the drive into her laptop
It blinked once
Then the screen shifted
Encrypted layers fell away like sand
A single folder opened
MONARCH
Inside—
Video files
Ledgers
Scanned documents
Flight logs
Surveillance footage
And one file marked
FOR ISLA
Her pulse jumped
She didn't open it
Not yet
Damien leaned over her shoulder
Reading in silence
"Look at this," he said
Pulled up a video
Security feed
Timestamped from a month ago
Cole
Sitting in a high-rise boardroom
Not hiding
Not running
Speaking to three men in suits
In the corner—
Vivienne
Standing like she belonged
Isla leaned in
"She's been playing both sides."
"Or she was recording leverage," Damien said
"She gave this to us for a reason."
He clicked through the files
Found names
Shell companies
Dates matching the offshore accounts Isla had flagged weeks ago
It all tied back to Cole
But it didn't stop there
Isla scrolled deeper
Saw something that made her freeze
A ledger
Her name
Her company
A falsified donation
Two years ago
"That's not real," she said
"But it looks real."
"They've been building this for years," Damien said
"Lining up every piece."
She clicked back
Heart hammering
And opened the file labeled FOR ISLA
A video
Short
Grainy
But clear enough
Her mother
Alive
Sitting across from Cole
Expression tight
Eyes hard
The sound came on late
Mid-conversation
"You owe me protection," her mother said
"You promised."
"I promised you'd vanish clean," Cole replied
"And you have."
Then silenceThe cold in Geneva hit different
Not like the chill back home
This one moved quiet and sharp
Like it knew how to slice through memory without bleeding
Isla stepped onto the tarmac
Hands in her coat
Eyes scanning the edges of a city she did not trust
Damien beside her
All shadow and silence
Focused
Distant
The car waiting was matte gray
Unmarked
Driver didn't speak
Damien gave the address
A name Isla hadn't heard before
But the numbers made sense
Offshore vault district
Where secrets were safer than people
You sure he's here she asked
He nodded once
He won't run
How do you know
Because he thinks I won't kill him
The streets blurred past
Old money
New glass
A city built on the backs of the quiet
Isla pulled out her tablet
Watched the blinking light of another transfer
Same shell company
Same Zurich loop
It moved again
Three hours ago
Someone knew they were coming
The building was glass and steel
Too clean
Too calm
Security looked up
But no one stopped them
Damien knew the path
Office 7B
He opened the door
No knock
No warning
Marcus Vale sat behind a desk
Silver hair
Sharper eyes
He didn't look surprised
Just smiled slow
Like someone already playing the next move
Damien he said
Marcus
Isla stepped inside
His gaze flicked to her
You brought company
She's not company Damien said
She's the reason this place is still standing
Isla dropped her tablet on the table
Zurich
Lagos
Geneva
Same trail
Same hand
Your name's on the transfers she said
I found it buried, but not deep enough
Marcus didn't deny it
Just leaned back
I suppose there's no point pretending
You worked with Cole Damien said, voice low
You helped him vanish
I helped him survive Marcus replied
There's a difference
You watched our families burn
I kept the fire from spreading You just didn't notice
Isla stepped forward
Where is he now
Marcus smiled again
Gone But not far He's building something bigger
Damien's hands curled at his sides
I trusted you. My father trusted you
And I trusted no one That's why I'm still here
"Let's go"
She followed without a word
But the chill didn't leave her skin
Not even when the doors closed behind them
They didn't speak in the elevator
The silence wasn't empty
It was full of everything that hadn't been said yet
Isla kept her eyes on the floor numbers
Each blink of light felt heavier than the last
Damien stood beside her
Unmoving
But his jaw was tight
Like he was holding something back
Again
When the doors opened
The air outside was colder
Sharper
They stepped into the night like it might swallow them
Neither of them flinched
"He's stalling," Isla said finally
"Marcus knows more. He's playing us."
Damien didn't deny it
"He gave us enough to keep moving. That's what he does. Feeds just enough truth to keep control."
"And you're okay with that?"
"No. But I know how to use it."
They reached the car
She slid into the passenger seat
Watched her reflection in the side mirror
Eyes she barely recognized anymore
Eyes learning how to stop trusting
Damien got behind the wheel
Started the engine without looking at her
"Zurich," he said
"He mentioned it for a reason. Cole's using the banks there to layer the money trail."
"So we follow it?"
"We trace the pattern. Then we break it."
Isla opened her tablet again
Her fingers moved fast
Precise
The screen lit up with the same looping numbers
Same route
But now—something new
A name
A new shell
She blinked
"Damien," she said, tilting the screen
"This one wasn't in the last chain. It's fresh. Opened yesterday."
He glanced at it
Eyes narrowing
"That's not Cole's style. It's too direct."
"Then someone wants us to find it."
He didn't speak for a second
Then—
"It's a message."
"A trap?"
"Maybe. Or maybe someone inside wants out."
She leaned back
The night stretched outside the window
Geneva falling behind
Too quiet
Too clean
"You trust anyone in this?" she asked
"I trust you."
The words landed too fast
Too sharp
She didn't look at him
Not right away
"Why?"
"Because you see what I miss. Because you don't run when things get ugly."
She swallowed
Didn't answer
Didn't need to
The new address led them to a private office block on the outskirts
No signs
No lights on the third floor
But Isla's code broke the door in under a minute
They moved like they had before
Silent
In sync
Two shadows chasing something darker
Inside the office
A single folder sat on the desk
Plain
No name
But the logo was burned into the paper
Cole's mark
Damien opened it slowly
Page by page
Bank records
Flight logs
A photo
Recent
Clear
Cole
Alive
Smiling
Standing with someone else
A woman Isla didn't recognize
But her chest clenched anyway
Because the smile wasn't forced
And the signature on the last page
Was hers
"Isla," Damien said slowly
But she was already reaching for the page
Already feeling the room spin
That signature
It was her name
Her handwriting
But she had never written it
"They're using you," Damien said
Soft now
Careful
"No," she whispered
"They're framing me"
The sound of footsteps in the hallway snapped them back to the moment
Too many
Too close
Damien shoved the folder into his coat
Grabbed her hand
"Time to run"
But Isla wasn't running
Not really
She was chasing now
And for the first time
She wanted to catch whoever was behind it
Even if it killed her
Absolutely
Episode 18
Still sharp
Still tense
But now the world is watching them
And the shadows are moving closer
They barely made it out the back
One alarm
One second too slow
And they would've been boxed in
Damien's hand stayed locked with hers as they ran through the alley
Cold air slicing through their coats
Footsteps behind them
But fading
When they reached the car
Neither spoke
Not yet
Not until the silence meant safety
Isla stared straight ahead
Breath shallow
"The signature," she said
"It's perfect. Even the loop on the S."
"They had access to something," Damien said
"Something close to you. Or someone."
Her stomach twisted
"They're making me part of this. Not just chasing. Complicit."
"Which means the endgame isn't just about Cole. It's about destroying you."
"And you."
His knuckles were white on the wheel
"They already tried."
Back at the hotel
Everything felt different
Too quiet
Like the walls were listening
Damien locked the door twice
Drew the blinds
Checked the cameras he installed the night before
"We can't stay long," he said
"Not with that signature in play. If they leak it—"
"They'll bury me," Isla finished
"And no one will ask questions."
She sat on the edge of the bed
Still holding the photo
Cole with the woman
Smiling like he hadn't shattered lives
"He's not hiding," she said
"Not anymore. He wants us to see him."
Damien was still watching the cameras
"I think he wants us to follow. And fall."
The folder sat on the table
Open
Heavy
Isla reached for the last page again
The flight log
The timestamp
The signature
Then she saw it
Small
Barely a scratch
But it was there
A second signature underneath hers
Faint
Coded
She pulled it up on her screen
Magnified it
Traced it
Then froze
"Damien…"
He turned
Saw her face
Moved closer
"What is it?"
She pointed to the faint letters
"I've seen this before. It's not a name. It's a location."
"Where?"
She typed fast
Overlayed the letters on a map
Matched the loop of each character to a grid
One point lit up
"Lisbon," she said
"It's hidden in the ink. Whoever forged my signature wanted us to find it."
Damien exhaled
"So not Cole."
"Someone else. Maybe someone on the inside."
A knock at the door snapped their heads up
Sharp
Twice
Then silence
Isla reached for the gun Damien left on the nightstand
He moved to the side of the door
Silent
Measured
A voice spoke through the crack
Female
Calm
"You need to leave. Now. They're already tracing the footage."
"Who are you?" Isla called back
"You'll find me in Lisbon," the voice replied
Then footsteps
Fading fast
Isla rushed to the window
Caught a flash of a dark coat disappearing into the street
"She knows," Damien said
"And she's scared."
"We follow her?"
"We follow the signature."
Isla packed fast
The photo
The folder
The truth that kept shifting under their feet
She paused at the door
Looked back once
This was where it changed
No more waiting
No more reacting
Whoever forged that signature knew her better than she wanted to admit
And whoever that woman was
She wasn't working alone
As they disappeared into the night
One thing settled sharp in Isla's chest
Lisbon wasn't just a location
Lisbon didn't hide in shadows
It danced in them
Narrow streets
Golden light spilling over old stone
And somewhere beneath it all
Another layer of lies waiting to be unearthed
They arrived just after noon
No time to rest
No time to think
Damien had already secured a flat on the edge of Bairro Alto
Top floor
No neighbors
No eyes
Isla moved through it without speaking
Checked every corner
Every camera
Every window
She didn't trust this city yet
But her gut said they had to be here
Damien stood by the window
Watching people pass like they might be carrying secrets in their coat pockets
"You think she'll show?" he asked
"She didn't risk warning us just to vanish," Isla said
"She wants us to find her"
"Or she wants Cole to know we're close"
Isla dropped the new file on the table
The signature
The photo
The woman
"I've seen her before," she said quietly
Not in person
But somewhere
Damien moved beside her
"Where?"
"I don't know yet. But she's not just a message. She's a memory."
Outside, the bells from a nearby church echoed
Soft
Distant
But something about them felt off
Like they were counting down
That night
They moved
Damien followed the financial trail
Shell accounts pinging from inside Portugal
Someone was still moving money
Still feeding the network
Isla followed faces
Cross-checked the photo with old archives
Old security footage
And finally—
She found it
Four years ago
A gala in Prague
Finance summit
Damien's father speaking
In the background
The woman
Same eyes
Same dress
Same stillness
She zoomed in
Heart thudding
Damien walked in behind her
Saw the image
"I know her," he said
Voice quiet
Like the wind had just been knocked out of him
"Who is she?"
"She worked for my father's private counsel. She wasn't just legal. She handled internal risk."
"Name?"
He hesitated
"Vivienne Ward."
Isla stared at the photo
"Vivienne left the firm the same year your father died."
"Disappeared," Damien corrected
"No resignation. No trace. We thought she was silenced."
"But she's not," Isla said
"She's the one pulling strings now. Or warning us from inside the web."
"She's both."
A knock came again
Sharp
This time—on the back door
Damien's hand was on his weapon in a breath
Isla opened the laptop camera feed
Vivienne
Alone
No fear in her eyes
Just exhaustion
And something colder
Something final
They let her in
She didn't waste time
Sat down like she belonged there
And dropped a small black drive on the table
"You have fifteen hours," she said
"After that, I disappear again."
"Where's Cole?" Isla asked
Vivienne tilted her head
"He's not the center anymore. He's the fuse."
"What does that mean?"
Vivienne looked between them
"You're not chasing a man. You're chasing a detonation."
The room fell silent
Heavy
Real
Vivienne leaned forward
"I helped build this. I stayed quiet. But I won't let him bury you to protect it."
"Why us?" Isla asked
"Because you're the only ones still stupid enough to care."
And then she stood
Walked to the door
Paused once
"When the drive opens," she said, "don't blink."
Then she was gone
And the silence that followed
Was louder than any truth they'd heard yet
Because whatever's on that drive isn't just intel
It's personal
And it's about to crack the space between them
The door clicked shut behind Vivienne
And the room held its breath
Damien hadn't moved
Still staring at the drive on the table
Like it might bite
Isla sat down slowly
Her hands were steady
But only just
"She looked like she hadn't slept in years," Isla said
Low
Measured
"But her eyes were clear."
"She's scared," Damien said
"But not of us."
Isla looked at him
"You trust her?"
"No. But I believe her."
Silence again
Only this time it felt like the moment before a storm
Still
Charged
Waiting
She plugged the drive into her laptop
It blinked once
Then the screen shifted
Encrypted layers fell away like sand
A single folder opened
MONARCH
Inside—
Video files
Ledgers
Scanned documents
Flight logs
Surveillance footage
And one file marked
FOR ISLA
Her pulse jumped
She didn't open it
Not yet
Damien leaned over her shoulder
Reading in silence
"Look at this," he said
Pulled up a video
Security feed
Timestamped from a month ago
Cole
Sitting in a high-rise boardroom
Not hiding
Not running
Speaking to three men in suits
In the corner—
Vivienne
Standing like she belonged
Isla leaned in
"She's been playing both sides."
"Or she was recording leverage," Damien said
"She gave this to us for a reason."
He clicked through the files
Found names
Shell companies
Dates matching the offshore accounts Isla had flagged weeks ago
It all tied back to Cole
But it didn't stop there
Isla scrolled deeper
Saw something that made her freeze
A ledger
Her name
Her company
A falsified donation
Two years ago
"That's not real," she said
"But it looks real."
"They've been building this for years," Damien said
"Lining up every piece."
She clicked back
Heart hammering
And opened the file labeled FOR ISLA
A video
Short
Grainy
But clear enough
Her mother
Alive
Sitting across from Cole
Expression tight
Eyes hard
The sound came on late
Mid-conversation
"You owe me protection," her mother said
"You promised."
"I promised you'd vanish clean," Cole replied
"And you have."
Then silence