The rain hadn't stopped.
It fell in relentless sheets, soaking the narrow alleyways of the city, washing the blood and secrets into the gutter. Lydia pressed her back against the cold bricks, breath coming fast, clutching the USB tight against her chest.
Every step she took away from Jaden felt like another crack in her soul.
She couldn't forget the way he looked — alive, yes, but hollow. Controlled. A puppet of the very woman he once swore to destroy.
Her mind reeled with everything she'd seen: the transmitter at his collar, the lifeless look in his eyes, and the way his voice trembled when he said I'm trying to keep you alive.
She wanted to believe him — God, she wanted to — but nothing about him felt real anymore.
She stopped by an old café that had closed years ago, the door hanging crookedly on its hinges. Inside, dust and darkness greeted her. She slipped behind the counter, crouching low, her body trembling from exhaustion.
Her phone buzzed once. A message.
Unknown number:
"You're not safe. They're tracking your signal. Leave the city."
Her stomach dropped.
She looked around quickly, scanning for movement — but the streets were empty. She didn't know who the message was from. Marcus? Jaden? Someone else entirely?
She typed a reply:
"Who is this?"
No response.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, then slowly tightened around the phone. Whoever it was… they were right. She couldn't stay.
---
Meanwhile, miles away, Jaden sat in the back of Cassandra's car.
Rain tapped softly against the tinted windows, a steady rhythm that filled the silence.
He looked pale — a shadow of his former self. His hands were bound loosely, but he didn't fight it. There was no point. Cassandra's control was deeper than metal chains — it was psychological, sharp, and invisible.
"You played your part well," Cassandra said, her tone smooth as silk. "She believes you're compromised. That was necessary."
Jaden's jaw tightened. "You didn't need to make me the villain."
"Oh, my dear boy," Cassandra said with a faint laugh. "In every story, the hero must fall before he can rise again."
"I didn't agree to this," he muttered.
"You did the moment you came back to me." Her voice darkened, almost venomous. "You think you're saving her? The moment she exposes those files, she's dead. And so are you."
Jaden turned to the window, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.
He didn't respond — because deep down, part of him feared she was right.
But another part… the part that still remembered Lydia's laugh, her stubbornness, her warmth — refused to give in.
He had a plan. One Cassandra didn't know about.
Not yet.
---
By dusk, Lydia had reached the outskirts of the city — the industrial zone where no one ever went anymore. She found shelter in a broken-down storage yard, lit only by the glow of flickering streetlights.
She plugged the USB into her laptop. Dozens of files opened, lines of encrypted data, names, accounts, transactions… all connected to Holloway Global.
Her fingers hovered over the upload button.
If she sent this to the press, Cassandra's empire would crumble.
But she hesitated.
Because if Cassandra was still controlling Jaden, he'd fall with her.
Tears welled in her eyes. "What are you doing to me, Jaden?" she whispered.
A noise behind her — a faint creak.
She froze.
"Lydia."
Her heart jumped at the sound of his voice. She spun around — and there he was. Soaked, tired, but standing there like a ghost she'd called back from the storm.
She gripped the laptop tight. "Stay where you are."
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"You already did," she said quietly.
Jaden stepped closer, hands raised. "Listen to me. Cassandra thinks I'm working for her, but I'm not. I needed her to believe it — it's the only way to get close enough to end this."
Lydia's voice shook. "How do I know this isn't another manipulation?"
He reached into his jacket and threw something onto the ground — the transmitter from his collar, crushed.
"Because I broke free," he said. "And now she's hunting both of us."
Her breath caught. The look in his eyes — this time, it wasn't cold. It was fire.
"Lydia," he said, stepping closer, "we don't have much time. The files you have — they're not just evidence. They're a map. Cassandra's real project isn't just finance — it's control. Mind control. That's what she's testing through her tech division."
Lydia blinked. "Mind control?"
"She's been experimenting for years — using neurological triggers, implants, subliminal algorithms in her systems. She wants to control influence — politicians, leaders, investors — all through coded neural impulses."
Lydia stared at him, the horror dawning on her face. "You're saying—"
"She tested it on me first," Jaden said quietly. "I was her prototype."
The room went still. The rain outside sounded like a thousand whispers.
Lydia took a shaky step forward. "That's why you vanished. Why you changed."
He nodded slowly. "I broke free only for short periods — flashes of clarity. But now the control's fading. That's why I came. I can help you stop her."
She swallowed hard, tears pooling in her eyes. "Jaden, I thought you betrayed me."
"I thought I'd lost myself forever," he whispered. "But you were the one thing I still remembered."
The air between them thickened — fear, pain, love all colliding.
But before she could speak, headlights flashed through the cracks in the wall.
Black SUVs. Cassandra's men.
Jaden's voice dropped to a whisper. "She found us."
He grabbed Lydia's hand, pulling her toward the back exit. "We have to move. Now."
They ran into the storm once more — side by side, the city lights vanishing behind them.
The world might have been breaking apart but in that moment, they only had one mission left:
Expose Cassandra before she controls everything — or die trying.