The armored van sped through the neon-soaked streets of the city, cutting through the fog like a predator. Inside, the silence was heavy, broken only by the hum of the engine and the faint, rhythmic clicking of Seraphina's tablet.
Jay-jay sat tucked into the corner, her eyes fixed on the "Ice Queen." Something was off. Seraphina, usually a master of composure, was acting... jittery. Every time they passed a security camera, she would tap a rapid sequence into her device, and her eyes kept darting toward Keifer's reflection in the rearview mirror with an unreadable expression.
"Someone you trust," Toby's digital ghost had warned.
Jay-jay leaned toward Keifer, whispering low enough that only he could hear. "Watch the tablet, Keifer. She's sending out pings. If she's the one who sold Toby out to the Elders..."
Keifer's jaw tightened. He didn't look back, but his voice was like ice. "I know, Jay. I'm already monitoring her outbound data. One wrong move, and she doesn't make it to the school."
Keifer, take the next exit toward the Old Port district," Seraphina said suddenly, her voice sharp
That's twenty minutes away from the school, Sera," Keifer replied, his hand shifting toward the center console where a hidden weapon was stowed. "Why are we changing the route?"
"Because if we go to the school now, we're walking into a slaughter," Seraphina snapped, finally closing her tablet. She looked at Jay-jay, her hazel eyes flashing with a mix of fear and desperation. "I've been rerouting the Elders' trackers, but I can't hold them forever. We need to stop at the secondary safe house. I have to purge the local server or they'll trace the 'Digital Ghost' back to the penthouse."
Jay-jay wasn't buying it. "Purge the server? Or delete the evidence that you're working for them?"
Seraphina let out a cold laugh. "Believe what you want, Mutya. But while you're playing detective, the Elders are closing in. Keifer, turn the car. Now."
Instead of turning, Keifer slammed on the brakes, the van skidding into an alleyway. He turned around, the barrel of his sidearm pointing directly at Seraphina's forehead.
"Phone. Tablet. Hands where I can see them," Keifer commanded.
Seraphina didn't flinch. She slowly raised her hands, but her eyes were fixed on Jay-jay. "You think I'm the one Toby warned you about? After I sang opera in the shower for your amusement? After I helped you infiltrate the pier?"
Toby said it's someone we trust," Jay-jay said, her voice trembling with anger. "And you've been acting like a spy since the second you moved in."
"I am a spy, you idiot!" Seraphina hissed. "But I'm not their spy. I was messaging Yuri. He's been intercepted. He didn't make it to his extraction point
As if on cue, a red dot appeared on Seraphina's chest. Then another on Keifer's shoulder.
"Get down!" Keifer roared, pulling Jay-jay to the floor of the van just as the windows shattered.
The alleyway was suddenly crawling with men in tactical gear—the Elders' elite "Executioners." They hadn't been followed; they had been waiting.
"If I'm the traitor," Seraphina yelled over the gunfire, pulling a hidden submachine gun from under her seat, "why am I the one currently shooting at the people who pay my bills?!"
She kicked the side door open, providing cover fire as Keifer and Jay-jay scrambled to adjust. But amidst the chaos, Jay-jay noticed something. One of the assassins didn't fire at Seraphina. He gave her a sharp, military hand signal—and Seraphina signaled back.
Jay-jay's heart sank. Seraphina was playing both sides, and the game was getting deadlier by the second.