Location: Underground Safehouse Ruins – 3 Days Later
Ash still clung to the walls of what was once their fortress. Isabella stood among the rubble, eyes hollow, voice sharp.
"Burn what's left. We don't retreat—we erase."
She turned to the surviving crew: Nico, Allegra, Gianna… and Luca, a quiet tech from the newest unit. He flinched under her gaze.
"Start again," she ordered. "Smarter. Colder."
Nico caught her wrist as the others moved.
"You haven't slept in three days."
She pulled free. "Sleep is for people who can afford to dream."
---
Elsewhere – Costanzo's Private Bunker
Costanzo stood before a steel door.
Inside: Domenico DeLuca, Nico's younger brother—bloodied, bruised, but alive.
"We don't need to kill him," Costanzo murmured to Ricci. "We just need to send a finger. Maybe a tongue. Something poetic."
Ricci tapped the glass with his ring. "No. Pain doesn't work on Isabella anymore. But betrayal might."
Costanzo smirked.
"Then it's time we use the ace we planted months ago."
---
Back at Isabella's New Hideout – "The Hollow"
They regrouped in a luxury bunker buried beneath an abandoned subway line. Isabella led them like a general—methodical, wordless, merciless.
But cracks were forming.
Allegra noticed files missing.
Gianna caught encrypted comms rerouted through internal firewalls.
Isabella ignored it all—until Luca slipped. He input a code Isabella never gave him.
She turned slowly. "How do you know that passphrase?"
He froze. "I—I thought it was—Allegra said—"
Nico didn't hesitate. He tackled him to the ground.
They found the tracker under his collarbone.
Ricci had planted a traitor inside her second circle.
---
Later That Night – Rooftop
Rain poured. Nico stood beside Isabella as she stared down at the city she once called home.
"He was just a kid," Nico said. "Ricci used him."
"So did I," she replied coldly. "But the difference is—I never lied about what I was."
He turned to her.
"You're not a monster, Isabella."
Her eyes didn't flinch.
"I wasn't. But I'm becoming what I need to be."
A long silence.
Then Nico said quietly, "They have Domenico. Costanzo made sure I knew."
Isabella's hand clenched.
"This ends now," she whispered. "No more waiting. No more running. We hit them first—and we burn it all."
---
Final Scene – Ricci's Office
The power flickered.
Ricci poured himself a drink.
"She's coming," Costanzo said.
Ricci grinned.
"Let her. Queens don't scare me."
Costanzo looked out the window.
"No," he muttered. "But queens don't play fair. And she's not a queen anymore—she's a storm."