When Aurora woke up, the room was bathed in the soft orange glow of a setting sun. She felt refreshed, the exhaustion of the past few days finally lifting. She realized she was still in Xavier's room, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She walked to the large window, looking out at the city skyline. New York looked different now—it wasn't a playground for the rich anymore; it was a battlefield.
She found a note on the nightstand in Xavier's sharp, elegant handwriting: "The first piece has moved. Meet me in the war room when you wake up. - X"
When she entered the war room, she found Xavier staring at a massive holographic display. Images of five men and women were rotating in the air. These were the leaders of the 'Apex Syndicate.'
"I've already leaked the first set of documents," Xavier said without turning around. "The European markets are in a frenzy. Apex's stock has plummeted forty percent in the last three hours."
"That's just the beginning," Aurora said, walking up to the hologram. She tapped on the image of a man named Marcus Vane—Silas Vane's older and far more dangerous brother. "Marcus is the one who authorized the bounty. He's currently in London, preparing to flee to a private island."
"He won't make it to the airport," Xavier stated coldly. "My teams are already in position. But Aurora, there's something you need to see."
He swiped the holographic screen, revealing a hidden file she hadn't seen before. It was a video log from her father's private office, dated the day before his death.
In the video, her father looked tired, but his eyes were bright with a secret. "Emily, if you're seeing this, it means the Lazarus Code is gone. I never wanted you to use it. I wanted you to burn it. But there is a second part. The code wasn't a weapon for destruction; it was a shield. It was designed to protect the world's wealth from people like Marcus and Silas. The key isn't in a file, Emily. The key is in the Thorne foundation—the very company you fought to get back."
Aurora felt a lump in her throat. Her father hadn't been a thief; he had been a guardian.
"The Thorne foundation has a secret server room that only your biometrics can open," Xavier explained. "If we get there, we can activate the 'Shield' and permanently lock the Syndicate out of their own stolen billions. They won't just be ruined; they'll be penniless and hunted by their own creditors."
"Then we have to go back," Aurora said, her voice firm. "Back to the Thorne building. Back to where it all started."
Xavier looked at her, his eyes filled with a mix of admiration and something deeper—something he had been trying to hide. "It's going to be the most dangerous thing we've ever done. They know we're coming."
"Let them know," Aurora replied, stepping closer to him and taking his hand. "I'm not Emily Thorne anymore. I'm the woman who's going to take everything from them."
Xavier pulled her into a sudden, fierce kiss, a seal of their alliance and something more. "Then let's go win a war, Aurora."
As they left the room, the screens behind them flickered with the news of the Syndicate's collapse. The hunt had officially turned. The prey was now the predator, and the world was about to find out exactly what happens when you push a woman with nothing left to lose.