CHAPTER 2
The federal bank was quiet at night—too quiet, almost reverent.
Kade Vance stepped through the glass doors as if he belonged there. The security guard barely glanced up from his phone, yawning, tapping at the screen with the lazy boredom of someone who believed this building was impenetrable.
It *was* impenetrable.
Because Kade had designed it that way.
But every system had a flaw.
He knew his own better than anyone.
He moved casually across the marble floor, shoulders relaxed, hoodie dripping rainwater. To anyone watching, he was just another tech staff member working late.
Behind his calm stride, his mind ran faster than electricity.
He wasn't just planning to commit a crime.
He was about to **broadcast a message to the entire government of Avalon**:
***I'm ready. Come get me.***
He reached the door marked *AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY*.
A fingerprint reader blinked red.
Kade wiped his wet fingers on his hoodie, pressed his thumb to the scanner, and waited.
A soft beep.
**ACCESS DENIED.**
Of course.
His access had been revoked years ago.
But the guard wasn't reacting.
Perfect.
Kade pulled out a tiny device—flat, black, no bigger than a SIM card.
A bypass module.
He fitted it to the scanner panel.
The lights flickered once, twice—
**ACCESS GRANTED.**
He slipped inside.
---
The server room was a freezing blue cavern of humming machines.
Rows of servers blinked in the dark like electronic constellations.
Kade inhaled by reflex.
This was his world.
His environment.
His battlefield.
He walked to the central vault—the digital core of the bank's security grid.
The place he had once poured half a year of his life into building.
Back then, he believed he was creating something safe… impenetrable… noble.
Now he knew better.
He wasn't breaking into a bank.
He was breaking into a lie.
---
On the front of the vault was a small glass panel.
Kade touched it.
A menu unfurled in holographic blue, scanning him, recognizing his irises.
**VERIFICATION REQUIRED
SUBMIT MASTER PIN**
He typed:
**0-0-0-0-0-0**
Not the real pin.
The real pin would trigger alarms, alerts, and lockdowns.
This one would trigger nothing.
Except the one thing he needed.
**SYSTEM BREACH DETECTED
INITIATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL**
Sirens erupted.
Red lights exploded across the ceiling in violent spirals.
Heavy magnetic locks sealed behind him with metallic roars.
Kade leaned back against the server vault and exhaled.
It had begun.
He'd triggered the bank's most severe internal alert—one that automatically notified:
* Federal Intelligence Bureau
* Digital Crimes Division
* National Security Council
* And most importantly…
**Citadel Division.**
The same shadow organization involved in Elias' disappearance.
They would come FAST.
---
The door behind him burst open.
Two armed guards stormed in, rifles raised.
"GET ON THE GROUND!"
Kade didn't resist.
Didn't speak.
He simply lay down, hands behind his head, face pressed to the cold floor.
Within seconds, he was surrounded by boots, shouts, guns.
One guard knelt on his back.
Another cuffed him.
A third grabbed his hair, yanking his head upward.
"Why'd you do it, huh?"
"Who sent you?"
"Are you with the dissidents?"
"Answer!"
Kade stayed silent.
The guard drew his fist back—
"ENOUGH."
A single word, slicing through the noise.
Everyone froze.
A woman in a charcoal suit stepped into the server room, her hair slicked back, face sharp, eyes glacial.
Director Halima Arden.
Head of Digital Crimes.
One of the most feared investigators in Avalon.
She looked down at Kade with no emotion whatsoever.
"You again," she said. "I always knew you'd return to your old playground."
Kade didn't answer.
Her gaze narrowed.
She crouched beside him.
"You broke into a federal-level vault, without tools, without access, and without hesitation."
A pause.
"You wanted to be caught."
He still didn't speak.
Director Arden smirked.
"Take him. Full restraints. Transfer to Blackridge at dawn."
At the name *Blackridge*, the guards hesitated.
Everyone knew Blackridge wasn't a normal prison.
It was where the government buried problems.
And the people who looked too closely at the truth.
The director leaned in close enough that he felt her breath against his ear.
"You're walking into a death sentence, Mr. Vance."
Kade finally spoke.
Soft. Controlled.
"That's the idea."
---
They dragged him out through the rain, shoved him into a black armored van, and slammed the doors shut.
Cold steel.
Darkness.
Silence.
Only his heartbeat kept him company.
He exhaled slowly.
Step one: complete.
He glanced at the cuff biting into his wrist and whispered:
"Elias… I'm on my way."
The van rumbled to life.
And somewhere, deep beneath Blackridge Penitentiary, a man who wasn't supposed to exist opened his eyes.
And said:
"He's coming."