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Chapter 15 - The Reluctant Bait

Rayyan smoothly clicked the secret chamber shut, the grinding sound of the rotating dome sealing their secret away. He descended the rusty fire escape with the same swift, deadly efficiency as he had climbed it. Ishaal followed, the leather journal and the damning flash drive clutched tightly in her jacket pocket. The inheritance felt heavy, like a ticking bomb.

Back in the anonymous black van, the urgency intensified.

"Agha's reaction will be immediate," Rayyan stated, driving with a focused intensity that made the city streets seem to bend to his will. "He won't chase the research; he will chase the carrier. He knows the information is useless if the source is destroyed."

Ishaal stared at him. "You mean me."

"I mean the threat you now represent," Rayyan corrected, his eyes fixed on the road, but his words landing like a precise hit. "Your father's work exposes his entire infrastructure. We can't leak it immediately, he'd just kill the person who published it and buy off the media."

He pulled the van into an underground parking garage, a maze of concrete and shadows. He cut the engine, plunging them into sudden, absolute darkness.

"Here is the plan," he said, the darkness amplifying the low rumble of his voice. "We use a fraction of the data to create a public tremor, just enough to confirm to Agha that the research is live and in my hands. That will enrage him, but it won't panic him enough to run."

Ishaal leaned forward, her heart pounding. "And the bait?"

Rayyan turned in the driver's seat. Even in the near-total darkness, his eyes held a cold, unwavering intensity.

"You," he confirmed, the word hanging heavy between them. "Ishaal, you are the focal point. You are the emotional trigger Agha knows I cannot ignore, and you are the only one who can prove to him that the research is real. We are going to give Agha a shot at the one thing he thinks he can successfully steal from Rayyan Raheel."

"My life," she stated flatly.

"Your presence," he countered. "We will set a scene. I will ensure you are seen in a location where you are vulnerable but where I can maintain absolute control over the extraction. We let him come close. And when he does, we use the evidence to corner him, or we force him into a mistake."

Ishaal felt a surge of cold fury. "You plan to use me as a pawn in your war, Rayyan. You are no better than Agha."

"I am the man keeping you alive, which is infinitely better than Agha," he snapped back, the control slipping for a second. "Do you think you can simply walk into a police station with that flash drive? Agha owns the station before you reach the desk. This is the only way to get him out of the shadows and hit him where it matters."

He reached across the console, his hand finding the back of her neck in a startling move that was both possessive and intensely protective. He didn't grip, but his touch was firm, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I won't lie to you. This is dangerous. But I promise you, Ishaal," he swore, his voice a low, gravelly whisper, "Agha will not touch you. I will draw his fire, but you will not be burned. This war ends only when he is gone."

The intensity of his stare was overwhelming. She knew he was a controlling, ruthless monster, but she also knew he meant the vow in that moment. Her life was linked to his power, and for the first time, she reluctantly accepted that truth.

"Where," she asked, the single word a surrender to his plan. "Where is the stage for this trap?"

A cold, challenging smile touched Rayyan's lips. "Somewhere public. Somewhere beautiful. Somewhere he will expect the exchange of information, but where he will only find the exchange of fire."

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