Abandoned Meat Locker – 4:15 a.m.
Preacher screamed again. Juliana didn't blink.
His hands were zip-tied above his head, bare feet dangling just above blood-slick tiles. The cold air stung, mixing the smell of rust and old flesh.
"I told you why I did it," he groaned, spitting blood onto the floor. "They threatened her."
Juliana paced slowly, blade in hand, calm as winter.
"You helped kidnap me. You put Echo at risk. You sold out everything we were fighting for."
"I made a deal to save family."
"So did I." She stopped in front of him. "And I still lost mine."
She jammed the knife into the wall beside his head. He flinched.
"I should gut you," she whispered.
"Then do it."
"You're not worth the stain."
Behind her, Echo leaned against the freezer door, arms crossed. Nael sat on an overturned crate, typing furiously on a laptop, eyes never leaving the screen.
"Got something," Nael said. "That drive we pulled from King's vault? It had a hidden message file."
"From who?" Echo asked.
"Juliana's mother."
_____
Juliana's chest went still.
She stepped forward, eyes locked on Nael's screen. A grainy video loaded. Date stamp: Two weeks before her parents were "killed."
"If you're watching this…" Rose Da Vinci's voice crackled through static, "…then they've found you. And I'm probably gone."
She sat in a clean room. Medical. Lab coats behind her. Her hands trembled. She wasn't the elegant strategist Juliana remembered. She looked… scared.
"Juliana… my darling. I made a deal with the Syndicate to protect you. I thought if I let them activate Subject 7 — you — they'd leave you alone after. But I was wrong."
She looked down. Eyes wet.
"They used you. Built the experiment around your DNA. Every program. Every test subject. All of it began with you."
Juliana's throat tightened.
"There's a kill switch embedded in your code. Psychological. Chemical. They'll try to break you from the inside. You'll feel rage like poison. Trust no one. Not even me."
Static burst across the screen. Then —
"But if you make it through… if you survive them… burn it all down, my love. Burn it all down and never look back."
The screen went dark.
_______
Silence. Heavy. Suffocating. Echo finally whispered, "Your mother tried to save you."
Juliana didn't answer. She turned back to Preacher.
"Where's Subject 10?"
His jaw clenched. "I don't know."
She kicked the crate from beneath him — let his arms stretch and crack until he screamed again.
"Where," she repeated, "is Subject 10?"
"I don't know where they are now. Just that the activation was scheduled. Tonight."
Juliana's stomach dropped.
"Where."
"Valebrook Civic Center. Midnight."
______
10:03 a.m. – Warehouse Hideout
Juliana stood in front of a camera. Pale light washed over her skin. Her hoodie was soaked in sweat and someone else's blood. Her knife rested on the table behind her. The pistol at her hip glinted cold and sure.
Nael hit record.
"This is a message for the Syndicate. For the agencies funding them. For the cowards behind the curtain."
She leaned in.
"You created me. Programmed me. Weaponized me."
"You took my parents. My home. My peace."
"And in return... I'm taking everything."
Behind her, Echo dragged Preacher into frame — bloody, broken, and gagged. Juliana grabbed him by the hair. Pulled him up.
"This man betrayed me. Sold me. Lied. And now…"
She pressed the pistol to the side of his head.
"He becomes your first lesson."
Echo whispered, "You sure about this?"
"He made his choice."
Bang. Blood sprayed the wall. Juliana didn't flinch.
"You've activated Subject 10. That was your last mistake."
She stepped forward again.
"You wanted the Widow? You got her."
"And I'm coming." Nael cut the feed.
______
10:17 a.m. – Online
The video went live. Within fifteen minutes, it spread across every criminal corner of the dark net. Syndicate message boards. Rogue agency hubs. Underground forums.
Some were horrified. Most were terrified. A few were impressed. But all of them? Were watching.
11:00 a.m. – On the Move
Juliana changed into a matte-black suit, combat harness over her chest, twin blades strapped to her back. Echo checked the gear. Nael synced the comms.
"Civic Center will be crawling with agents by now," Echo warned. "They'll expect you."
"Good."
"And if Subject 10's already awake?"
Juliana loaded her pistol.
"Then I kill them before they remember who they are."
Valebrook Civic Center – 11:55 p.m.
The building was cold steel and shadows, renovated to look sleek and democratic. But Juliana knew the truth: it was a lab. A staging ground.
They moved through side tunnels. Echo took rear. Nael monitored the signal spikes.
"Movement on the second floor. Heat signatures—thirty-six people. One of them isn't moving."
Juliana's heart kicked.
"That's our target."
They reached the lab wing. Bodies. Everywhere. Not shot. Slaughtered.
One man's head was torn open like paper. A woman's spine was snapped backward.
Echo whispered, "This wasn't human."
Then they saw the room. Glass shattered.
A metal chair in the center, restraints broken. And painted on the wall, in blood—
"Queen vs Queen."
Juliana's pulse thundered. "She's active," Echo said. "And she knows who you are."