Adriana's POV
Ryan's gun pointed at my chest, but somehow that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was the apologetic smile on his face. Like he actually felt bad about this.
"I'm sorry, Adriana," he said. "I really am. You seem like a good person."
"Then don't do this," I said, hands raised. Around us, people walked past, oblivious. Just another day in New York. "Ryan, you don't have to—"
"Actually, I do." He gestured with the gun. "All three of you, walk to that black van across the street. Slowly. Don't make a scene or I start shooting civilians."
Marcus stood frozen beside me. Dominic's face had gone hard as stone.
"You worked with me for two years," Dominic said quietly. "I trusted you."
"I know. Made it easier to keep tabs on you for Elena." Ryan shrugged. "Nothing personal, Dom. Just business. Now move."
We started walking. What else could we do? Ryan kept the gun hidden under his jacket, but I could feel it pointed at my back. One wrong move and he'd shoot.
The van waited across the street, engine running. The door slid open as we approached.
Detective Chen sat inside, a bandage on her head from where I'd hit her with the lamp. She smiled viciously when she saw me.
"Get in," Ryan ordered.
This was it. Once we were in that van, we were dead. They'd drive us somewhere remote, kill us, dump our bodies where no one would find them.
The flash drive in my pocket felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
I glanced at Dominic. He met my eyes. Some silent understanding passed between us.
We'd rather die fighting than surrender.
I saw him tense, ready to move. I prepared to spin, to fight, to do something—
"Federal agents! Drop your weapon!"
The shout came from behind us. Ryan spun around, confused.
Six agents in FBI jackets surrounded us, guns drawn. Real agents. Not Elena's people.
Ryan's face went pale. "You don't understand. These people are—"
"Under federal protection," said the lead agent, a woman in her forties with sharp eyes. "Put the gun down, Agent Blake. Now."
"Agent?" I repeated. Ryan was FBI?
Ryan looked trapped. The gun wavered in his hand. For a second, I thought he might shoot anyway.
Then he dropped it and raised his hands. "You're making a mistake."
"We'll see about that." Two agents grabbed Ryan, cuffing him. Another pulled Chen from the van, doing the same.
The lead agent approached us. "Ms. Vale? Mr. Cross? I'm Special Agent Maria Santos. We've been investigating Judge Vasquez for six months. We know you have evidence against her."
Hope flared in my chest. "You believe us?"
"We do now. One of our undercover agents inside Vasquez's organization sent word you were in danger. We've been looking for you all morning."
"Who's your undercover agent?" Dominic asked.
Santos hesitated. "I can't reveal that. But they risked everything to save you. Said you had information that could bring down the entire network."
I pulled out the flash drive. "It's all on here. Everything."
Santos's eyes widened. "Is that Hammond's drive? We've been searching for that since he disappeared."
"He gave it to me before he died. Right before Elena's people killed him in my office."
"We know. We saw the police reports. That's when we knew things were escalating." Santos took the drive carefully, like it was made of glass. "This is enough to arrest Vasquez and everyone working for her. You just saved a lot of lives, Ms. Vale."
The relief was so strong I almost collapsed. It was over. Finally over.
"What happens now?" Marcus asked.
"We take you somewhere safe. Get your statements. Use this evidence to build our case." Santos gestured to a car. "If you'll come with us—"
"Wait," Dominic said. "Your undercover agent. The one who warned you. Was it my mother?"
Santos's expression shifted. "Mr. Cross—"
"Was it her?" His voice broke. "Please. I need to know."
Santos sighed. "Yes. Victoria Cross has been feeding us information about Vasquez for three months. She came to us after Elena ordered her to kill you. Said she couldn't do it. Couldn't hurt her own son."
I saw something crack in Dominic's face. Hope. Pain. Confusion. All at once.
"Where is she now?" he asked.
"Safe. In protective custody. She'll testify against Elena in exchange for immunity."
Dominic's legs seemed to give out. He sat down right there on the sidewalk, head in his hands.
I knelt beside him. "Hey. It's okay."
"She chose me," he whispered. "In the end, she chose me."
"Of course she did. You're her son."
Santos cleared her throat. "I hate to rush you, but we need to move. Vasquez has people everywhere. The longer we stay exposed—"
An explosion ripped through the air.
The black van Chen had been sitting in erupted in flames, metal flying everywhere. The blast threw us backward. My ears rang. Smoke filled the street.
People screamed and ran. Car alarms wailed. Through the chaos, I heard gunfire.
Santos shouted into her radio: "We're under attack! Need backup at—"
A bullet took her in the shoulder. She went down.
More agents fell around us. They weren't ready for this. Elena's people were everywhere, shooting from rooftops, from cars, from windows.
"Move!" Dominic grabbed my arm, hauling me up. Marcus was already running.
We sprinted down the street as the courthouse steps turned into a war zone. Behind us, I heard Santos screaming for her agents to fall back.
We ducked into an alley, then another, running blindly through Manhattan. Finally, we stopped in a narrow space between buildings, gasping for breath.
"The flash drive," I said. "Santos has it. We lost it."
"No." Marcus pulled an identical drive from his pocket, grinning. "I made a copy last night. Just in case."
I could have kissed him. "You brilliant, paranoid genius."
"We still have a chance," Dominic said. "But we can't go to the FBI. Elena clearly has people inside. Anyone Santos called for backup could be working for her."
"Then what do we do?" I asked.
Marcus held up the flash drive. "We do what we planned before. Go public. Upload everything to every news station, every website, every social media platform. Make it impossible for Elena to cover up."
"But where? How? She'll be watching everything."
Dominic's phone buzzed. He looked at it and his face went white.
"What?" I asked. "What is it?"
He showed me the screen. A text from an unknown number:
Come to the courthouse. Alone. Or your mother dies screaming. You have thirty minutes. -Elena
Below the text was a photo. Victoria Cross, tied to a chair, blood running down her face.
"It's a trap," Marcus said immediately.
"I know." Dominic stared at the photo. "But she's my mother. I can't just—"
"You can't save her if you're dead," I said gently.
"I can't let her die for me." Dominic's eyes met mine. "Not after she finally chose to do the right thing. I have to go."
"Then we go together," I said.
"Adriana—"
"Don't even try to argue. You saved my life five years ago by destroying yours. Now it's my turn."
Marcus groaned. "I really hate both of you sometimes."
Dominic smiled sadly. "You don't have to come."
"Shut up. Of course I'm coming." Marcus pocketed the flash drive. "But we're doing this smart. We upload the evidence first. That way, even if Elena kills us, the truth still gets out."
"How?" I asked. "We need internet, time, safety—"
"I know a place," Marcus said. "An internet café three blocks from here. Owner's a friend. Old hacker buddy. He'll let us use his private network."
"Then we do that first," I decided. "Upload everything. Then we face Elena."
We ran through the streets, watching for Elena's people. The café appeared—small, dingy, perfect. Marcus's friend let us in through the back.
It took fifteen minutes to upload everything. Fifteen minutes of watching the door, jumping at every sound, praying we wouldn't be found.
The progress bar hit one hundred percent.
"It's done," Marcus said. "Every news station. Every major website. FBI. Justice Department. It'll take them hours to scrub it all, and by then everyone will have seen it."
I felt something settle in my chest. Win or lose, die or live, at least the truth was out there now.
"Time to face Elena," Dominic said.
We walked to the courthouse. The sun was setting, painting the marble columns blood-red.
The front doors stood open. Waiting.
We climbed the steps together and went inside.
The building was empty. Eerily quiet. Our footsteps echoed on marble floors.
"Hello?" Dominic called.
"Top floor," Elena's voice echoed down. "Judge's chambers. Don't keep me waiting."
We took the elevator up. The doors opened to reveal a long hallway lined with portraits of judges.
At the end, a door stood open. Light spilled out.
We walked toward it. Every instinct screamed to run, but we kept going.
Inside the chambers, Elena sat behind a massive desk. Victoria was tied to a chair beside her, gagged and beaten. Elena held a gun to Victoria's head.
"Right on time," Elena said pleasantly. "I do appreciate punctuality."
"Let her go," Dominic said. "Your fight's with me."
"Oh, this isn't about you, darling." Elena smiled. "This is about sending a message. No one crosses me. No one betrays me. Not even family."
She cocked the gun.
"Wait!" I shouted. "You've already lost. We uploaded everything. The whole country knows what you've done by now."
Elena's smile never wavered. "I know. I've been watching the news. Very dramatic. Very thorough."
"Then you know it's over," I said. "Let Victoria go. Turn yourself in. At least you might avoid the death penalty."
"Death penalty?" Elena laughed. "My dear, I'm not going to prison."
She pressed a button on her desk. The door behind us slammed shut. Locks clicked.
"I'm not going anywhere," Elena continued. "Because in about ninety seconds, this entire floor is going to explode. You see, I had bombs planted months ago. Just in case. And now..." She checked her watch. "In eighty-five seconds, all the evidence of my crimes dies with you. Rather poetic, don't you think?"
My blood turned to ice.
"You'll die too," Marcus said.
"A small price to pay. I built an empire. I lived like a queen. And I'll die on my own terms, taking my enemies with me." Elena's eyes glittered with madness. "Seventy seconds."
Dominic lunged for his mother. Elena swung the gun toward him.
The countdown ticked in my head.
And I realized we were all about to die.