Chapter Four –
The next morning bled gray over Corvane.
Mist hung low over the rooftops, softening the steel edges of the skyline. But inside the Vale compound, the air was knife-sharp. Everyone could feel it — something was breaking, and no one knew when the pieces would fall.
Rhea stood by the window in Luciana's office, watching the city choke on its own breath. She hadn't said a word since she came in. Luciana had been silent too, pacing between her desk and the far wall, her movements calm but taut, like someone walking through a minefield.
When Luciana finally spoke, her voice was steady. "You found her, didn't you?"
Rhea didn't turn around. "Who?"
"Don't insult me, Cortez. Mira's ghost doesn't crawl out of the gutter unless someone calls her."
Rhea exhaled slowly, fogging the glass. "She says someone inside's still leaking. Someone close."
Luciana's reflection in the window stilled. "Did she say who?"
Rhea hesitated. Then: "No."
Luciana came closer, her steps quiet, deliberate. "You're lying."
Rhea turned to face her. "If I was, you'd already know."
Luciana's gaze flicked to the bruise blooming along Rhea's jaw. "You didn't get that from the street."
Rhea said nothing.
Luciana leaned in, her voice low. "I built this from nothing. Every street, every name, every drop of blood in this city owes me something. Don't make me think you're protecting someone."
"I'm protecting you," Rhea said sharply.
The words came out before she could stop them.
For a heartbeat, neither moved. Then Luciana's expression cracked, just slightly — not surprise, not anger — something deeper. The kind of ache that came from knowing someone would die for you, and hating yourself for letting them.
Luciana turned away. "You shouldn't have to."
---
By evening, the storm had returned. Thunder rolled over Corvane, echoing through the glass towers that loomed above the docks. The Vale compound's main floor was almost empty — most of the men had been sent out on errands, whispers, clean-up runs.
Rhea sat at the bar, nursing black coffee and exhaustion. Mateo joined her, dropping a file on the counter.
"Got something," he said. "Records from the phone lines. Mira was right — someone rerouted internal calls through an encrypted channel."
Rhea flipped through the papers. Names. Codes. Times. Then one line caught her eye.
ACCESS: L.VALE / 01:47 AM / ROUTE-12
Her chest went cold.
"Luciana's access code," she murmured.
Mateo frowned. "Could be a frame job."
"Or she knew," Rhea whispered.
They sat in silence for a moment. Then Mateo said quietly, "What if she's not who you think she is?"
Rhea closed the file. "Then I'll find out the hard way."
---
That night, Rhea stood outside Luciana's door. Rain pounded against the glass. Inside, she could hear faint music — an old jazz record, warped by time.
She knocked once.
Luciana looked up when she entered, her expression unreadable. "You've been busy."
"So have you," Rhea said, tossing the file onto the desk. The papers spilled across the wood like confessions.
Luciana scanned them, then set them aside. "You think I leaked my own shipment?"
"I think someone used your access."
Luciana's eyes darkened. "Someone always does."
The silence stretched until it felt like the air might snap. Rhea's pulse was too loud in her ears. "If you're hiding something from me, tell me now."
Luciana stood, walked around the desk, and stopped inches away. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"You think I'd ever betray what we've built?"
Rhea's throat tightened. "I don't know what to think anymore."
Luciana studied her face — the tension, the exhaustion, the unspoken something between them. Her hand rose halfway, almost touching Rhea's cheek, then fell.
"Then stop thinking," she said quietly. "And trust me."
Rhea's voice cracked. "That's what scares me."
Luciana smiled faintly, bitterly. "Good. It means you still care."
---
The storm outside broke like a scream.
Thunder rolled over the compound, and in that moment, everything that had been held back — suspicion, fear, desire, grief — hung between them like static.
Rhea turned away first. "If I find out this all leads back here… I won't look away."
Luciana didn't move. "Neither will I."
Rhea walked out into the rain, letting it wash the heat off her skin. Behind her, Luciana stood by the window, watching, one hand pressed to the glass.
The city lights flickered below — the heart of Corvane, alive and ruthless.
And somewhere in the distance, another call went out.