---
Location: Safehouse – Midnight
Thunder cracked overhead, but the air felt wrong. Not a storm—an omen.
Isabella stood in the surveillance room, watching the monitor flicker. Motion sensors lit up like a dying constellation.
"They're here," Allegra muttered. "Three vehicles. East entrance. Armed."
Nico locked the final gate. "We have five minutes, max."
"Get Matteo to the panic room," Isabella said.
"No," her father said, appearing behind her, voice eerily calm. "I'm not running."
She turned to face him—and for the first time, saw it.
His eyes weren't his.
They were Ricci's.
---
The Assault Begins
Bullets sprayed through the outer fence. Gianna was the first to fire back, pinning a team of Ricci's mercenaries behind the generator shed.
Allegra detonated the EMP charge, disabling all drones—but not before one final signal burst escaped.
Isabella knew what it meant.
"This isn't just a raid," she muttered. "They want us to panic."
Nico nodded grimly. "They want us to break."
---
Inside – The Panic Room
Matteo sat on the bench, twitching.
Sweat dripped from his brow.
Visions flickered—Ricci's voice in his skull, carved in with chemicals.
"You were the King. She made you weak. End it."
His hand slipped into his coat.
Wrapped around a gun no one saw him take.
---
Elsewhere – Gunfire and Fire
The east wing was burning. Allegra screamed orders, dragging an injured Gianna behind cover.
Nico barreled through the back hallway, head pounding with noise.
Then—two quick shots from the panic room.
He froze.
---
Panic Room – Seconds Earlier
Isabella stepped in just in time.
Matteo had the gun raised.
Tears streaming.
"Please, Papà," she whispered. "That's not you. That's them."
His hand trembled. A heartbeat passed.
Then he looked her in the eyes—and something broke.
"Forgive me," he said.
And turned the gun on himself.
Isabella lunged.
The gun fired.
---
Aftermath
She didn't scream. Not when blood coated her arms. Not when Nico dragged her away from her father's body. Not when the flames ate through the safehouse walls.
She didn't scream.
Because this was war.
And in war, queens don't scream.
They burn.
---
Final Scene – Ricci's Fortress
Costanzo stared at the report.
Matteo Moretti: deceased.
Safehouse: destroyed.
Isabella: alive.
He slammed his fist on the table.
"She chose the mission."
Ricci smiled darkly. "Then she chose our game."