BETWEEN FIRE AND FREEDOM

Ayla didn't wait for the fire to reach her.

As the monitors flickered and the floor trembled beneath her feet, she sprinted down the narrow hallway outside the vault. Smoke filled the air. The sprinklers hadn't activated—Cassian had disabled them.

The trap had begun.

She ducked beneath a collapsing beam, shielding her head. Her lungs burned, but her instincts were louder than her fear: Run. Find them.

Behind her, Cassian stood in the control room, calmly watching the chaos unfold.

"She's clever," he murmured, watching Ayla flee. "She might actually make it out."

Then he turned toward the back panel, punching in a code.

A steel door slid open, revealing a private escape tunnel—his final exit if all else failed.

But he wasn't planning to leave. Not yet.

Elsewhere in the estate…

Leon stumbled as the floor cracked beneath him. The fire had spread faster than they expected.

"AYLA!" he yelled, voice hoarse. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He could barely see through the smoke—until he caught a glimpse of movement at the far end of the hallway.

It was her.

Covered in ash, limping, eyes wide—but alive.

"LEON!" she screamed.

He ran toward her, catching her just before the ceiling cracked and a section of the corridor fell in behind her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked quickly, hands gripping her shoulders.

"No," she said, breathless. "But he's still inside. He's not trying to escape."

Leon's eyes hardened. "He's waiting."

Meanwhile…

Viper moved like a storm.

He kicked down a door, took down the last two guards, and finally reached the corridor where Cassian's control room was located.

And Cassian… was already waiting there.

Smoke curled between them, fire reflecting in their eyes.

"It's fitting," Cassian said, voice even. "That it ends here. You, me, and everything we lost."

"You burned it all to the ground, Cassian," Viper growled, stepping forward. "And now I'm here to bury what's left."

Cassian's lip curled into a cold smile.

"Then come finish it."