Raven's POV
Benjamin's gun points directly at Dante's head.
"Any last words, cousin?" Benjamin's smile is cruel. "Something poetic? Your father begged, you know. Offered me everything. Money. Power. His pathetic life. Vincent Moretti laughed and shot him anyway."
Dante's entire body shakes with rage. "You were there. You watched them die."
"I arranged it." Benjamin's voice is casual, like discussing the weather. "I was seventeen, tired of being the poor cousin. Your father had everything—the company, the respect, the perfect family. So I made a deal with Vincent Moretti. Kill the Ashfords, frame it as a mob hit, and I'd help him access your father's offshore accounts."
Raven's stomach turns. "You killed your own family for money?"
"For fifty million dollars, yes. And it was worth every penny." Benjamin gestures around the kitchen. "I've spent twenty years building The Architect's network on that foundation. Voss works for me. Marcus worked for me. Every corrupt cop, judge, and politician in Chicago—they all answer to me. And Dante never suspected his beloved cousin was the one who orchestrated his entire miserable life."
"I'll kill you," Dante whispers, pure murder in his voice.
"With what? You're on your knees, surrounded, and broken." Benjamin crouches down to Dante's level. "I knew you'd come here eventually. The dutiful nephew, returning to his trauma. You're so predictable. So weak. So—"
Dante moves.
One second he's kneeling, the next his hand whips out and grabs Benjamin's gun, twisting it sideways. The weapon discharges—BOOM—bullet hitting the ceiling.
"DOWN!" Adrian shouts.
Adrian and Raven drop as Adrian returns fire. Benjamin's men shoot back. The kitchen explodes into chaos—bullets, screams, shattered glass.
Dante and Benjamin wrestle for the gun, crashing into furniture. They're evenly matched—Dante has rage, Benjamin has training.
Raven crawls behind the counter, heart hammering. She needs a weapon. Anything.
A knife block sits on the counter. She grabs the biggest knife just as one of Benjamin's men rounds the corner, gun raised.
Pure instinct takes over. Raven lunges, driving the knife into his shoulder. He screams, dropping his weapon. She grabs it—heavy, foreign, terrifying in her hands.
But she's done being helpless.
She shoots.
The recoil nearly knocks her down but the bullet hits another of Benjamin's men in the leg. He falls, cursing.
Adrian takes out two more with precise shots. That leaves one gunman plus Benjamin.
Dante finally wrenches the gun from Benjamin's grip and pistol-whips him across the face. Benjamin crashes into the wall, blood streaming from his nose.
"Adrian! Raven! Out! NOW!" Dante shouts.
The last gunman fires at them. Adrian returns fire, creating cover while Raven runs for the back door. Dante follows, dragging a semi-conscious Benjamin by the collar.
They burst into the backyard—overgrown and wild and dark.
"The car's two blocks south!" Adrian pants. "Move!"
They run through back alleys, Benjamin stumbling between Dante and Adrian. Behind them, sirens wail—someone called the police about the shooting.
They reach the car and pile in, Adrian driving before the doors even close. Benjamin slumps in the back seat between Dante and Raven, blood dripping from his face.
"You think you've won?" Benjamin laughs—wet and broken. "I have insurance. Files. Evidence of every crime I've committed and everyone who helped me. You kill me, those files go public. Dante Ashford, billionaire vigilante killer. Raven Blackwell, cop-turned-murderer. Your Uncle Luca's entire operation. Everything burns."
"Where are the files?" Dante presses his gun against Benjamin's temple.
"Safety deposit box. Swiss bank. Triggered to release if I don't check in every forty-eight hours. I haven't checked in since yesterday." Benjamin spits blood. "So you have twenty-four hours before the whole world knows what you've done."
Raven's blood runs cold. "You're bluffing."
"Am I? Check your phone. Look at the news."
With shaking hands, Raven pulls up her phone. The top headline makes her heart stop:
BREAKING: ANONYMOUS SOURCE LEAKS EVIDENCE OF CORRUPTION IN CHICAGO PD - COMMISSIONER VOSS IMPLICATED
She clicks the article. It's everywhere—financial records, testimony, proof of Voss's crimes. Everything they needed to destroy him.
"I released the first batch an hour ago," Benjamin says. "Insurance, remember? Now everyone knows Voss is dirty. But they don't know about The Architect yet. Don't know about you, Dante. Don't know Raven helped catch and nearly execute an innocent man for your uncle. That comes tomorrow unless—"
"Unless what?" Dante snarls.
"Unless you let me go. Give me twenty-four hours to reach Switzerland. Once I'm safe, I'll destroy the remaining files. You get what you want—Voss destroyed, your reputation intact. I get my life. Everyone wins."
"You murdered my family!"
"And I can prove you've murdered twelve people in five years. Which story do you think the media will care more about? The billionaire serial killer or the sad orphan from two decades ago?" Benjamin's smile is vicious. "Your choice, cousin. Let me go or watch your world burn."
Dante's hand trembles on the gun. Raven can see the war in his eyes—justice versus survival.
"Boss," Adrian says quietly. "If those files go public, they'll connect you to the Moretti family. Luca will be exposed. The entire organization comes down. Thousands of people will be arrested."
"Innocent people along with the guilty," Benjamin adds. "Your choice, Dante. Be the hero and destroy everyone around you. Or let the monster escape and save your people. What kind of man are you, really?"
The car goes silent except for the sound of racing engines and distant sirens.
Raven's mind spins. They can't let Benjamin go—he murdered Dante's family, built an empire on their deaths, corrupted an entire city. But if they kill him, everyone they care about gets destroyed too.
There has to be another way.
"The bank," Raven says suddenly. "In Switzerland. Which one?"
Benjamin smirks. "Why would I tell you that?"
"Because I'm going to make you a deal." Raven's voice steadies as a plan forms. "You give us the bank information. We retrieve the files ourselves. Once we have them, we let you go. You get your life. We get our insurance. Nobody burns."
"And if I say no?"
"Then Dante shoots you right now and we take our chances with your files. At least you'll be dead." She meets Benjamin's eyes. "You're a survivor, Benjamin. You proved that when you killed your family for money. So survive this. Make the smart choice."
Benjamin studies her, calculating. Finally, he laughs.
"You're good, detective. Almost as ruthless as me." He rattles off an account number and bank name. "But here's the thing—that bank has the highest security in the world. Biometric scanners, armed guards, vault systems designed to be unbreakable. You'll never get in."
"That's our problem." Dante looks at Adrian. "Can you get us to Switzerland in twenty-four hours?"
"Private jet can get us there in twelve."
"Then we're going." Dante turns to Benjamin. "You stay with Luca. He'll keep you alive as long as we need you. The moment we have those files, you're free to run wherever you want. But if you try to escape, if you trigger any backup plans, I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."
Benjamin nods slowly. "Deal."
They drive to the Moretti warehouse. Luca listens to their plan with dark amusement.
"You're robbing a Swiss bank? Bold." He looks at Benjamin with disgust. "I'll keep The Architect comfortable. Don't worry, Dante—I'll make sure he lives long enough to regret everything."
Two hours later, Raven and Dante sit on a private jet heading to Switzerland. Adrian stayed behind to coordinate with Luca and watch Benjamin.
The plane is empty except for them and the pilot. Raven stares out the window at clouds rushing past.
"I killed someone today," she says quietly. "Shot him. Didn't even hesitate."
Dante's hand covers hers. "You protected yourself. That's not murder."
"Then what is it? What are we?" She looks at him. "I used to be a detective who believed in justice. Now I'm robbing banks with a vigilante killer. When did I become the criminal?"
"When the world forced you to be." His steel-blue eyes are gentle. "We do what we must to survive, Raven. The question isn't whether we're criminals. It's whether we can live with what we've become."
"Can you?"
He's silent for a long moment. "Every time I kill someone, I tell myself it's justice. That they deserved it. That I'm making the world better. But the truth?" His voice breaks. "The truth is I don't know anymore. I've been doing this so long, I can't remember who I was before. The twelve-year-old boy in the closet died that night along with my family. I'm just the ghost he left behind."
Raven squeezes his hand. "Then maybe we can be ghosts together."
He almost smiles. "Partners in haunting?"
"Partners in everything."
The moment stretches between them—intimate and dangerous and real.
Then Dante's phone buzzes. He checks it and his face goes pale.
"What?" Raven asks.
"Adrian. He says—" Dante's voice shakes. "He says Benjamin just escaped. Killed two of Luca's guards and vanished. And he left a message."
"What message?"
Dante turns the phone so she can see. One text from an unknown number:
Congratulations on falling for my trap. While you fly to Switzerland chasing fake files, I'm in Chicago destroying everything you love. By the time you land, Voss will know everything about your operation. Luna Park will be dead. Marcus and Scarlett will be heroes for exposing the "Reaper killer." And Raven Blackwell? She'll be blamed for all of it. Enjoy Switzerland. I've already won. - The Architect
Below the text: a photo of Luna, bound and gagged in a dark room, terror in her eyes.
Raven's scream tears through the plane.
"TURN AROUND!" she shouts at the pilot. "We have to go back! He has Luna! He's going to kill her!"
But Dante grabs her shoulders, his face a mask of controlled panic.
"We're five hours from Chicago. By the time we get back, it'll be too late." His voice cracks. "Benjamin played us perfectly. The bank was a distraction. He wanted us gone so he could execute his real plan."
"Then what do we do?!"
Dante's hands shake as he calls Adrian. The conversation is tense, urgent, hopeless.
He hangs up and looks at Raven with devastated eyes.
"Adrian's going after Luna. But Voss's men are already moving. Benjamin sent them everything—our locations, our plans, our allies. It's a coordinated strike happening right now. Everyone we know is a target."
"No," Raven whispers. "No no no—"
"We can't save them from here." Dante pulls her close as she breaks. "All we can do is hope Adrian gets there in time."
The plane flies through darkness.
And somewhere in Chicago, Raven's best friend is about to die because of her.