Seojin's pulse thundered in her ears as she sat in the cold, sterile room, staring at her father.
"You're going to finish what I started."
His words echoed in her mind, wrapping around her like a noose.
She clenched her fists. "I would rather die."
Her father exhaled as if disappointed. "Dramatic as always." He gestured toward the screen beside him. "You don't even know what I'm offering you."
The screen flickered to life—and Seojin's heart stopped.
It was a live feed.
Of her mother.
She was strapped to a medical chair, electrodes pulsing against her skin, her face eerily still.
Seojin went cold.
"What did you do to her?"
Her father's lips curled. "Nothing—yet."
Seojin's hands trembled. No. No, no, no.
"I'll make this simple," he continued, his voice as smooth as glass. "Help us complete the compliance protocol, and I will let her go."
Seojin's world tilted.
"This is your only chance, Seojin." His voice was almost gentle. "You can save her. But you have to make the right choice."
Seojin's stomach twisted. This isn't a choice. This is a threat.
Her father leaned closer. "So, what will it be?"
Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out.
She had spent years fighting this war.
She had risked everything to take the Council down.
And now—her mother's life was the price?
Seojin's throat tightened. This was her breaking point.
But she wasn't broken yet.
Somewhere across the city, Minji slammed a fresh magazine into her gun, her injured arm aching. "We have less than 48 hours to get her out."
Kade adjusted his bulletproof vest. "That's not much time to infiltrate a fortress."
Minji's jaw tightened. "Then we don't infiltrate."
Kade raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Minji smirked. "We blow the damn place up."
Kade let out a sharp laugh. "Now you're really starting to sound like Seojin."
Minji's smirk faded. "She wouldn't leave us behind."
Kade's voice lowered. "No, she wouldn't."
And that's why they had to move.
Because if they didn't—they would never see her again.
Seojin sat in silence, staring at the screen.
Her mother. The woman she had thought was dead for years. The woman who had been locked away, tortured, and used by the Council.
Her father was still watching her, waiting.
Expecting her to break.
Seojin took a slow, steady breath.
Then, she looked up.
And she smiled.
Her father frowned. "What's so funny?"
Seojin tilted her head. "You really think I don't have a plan?"
His expression flickered with uncertainty.
And that's when Seojin moved.
With a flick of her wrist, she triggered the emergency override she had planted in the Council's system days ago.
The screen glitched.
Sirens blared.
And deep in the heart of the facility, explosions started to go off.
Her father's eyes went wide. "What have you done?"
Seojin stood up, her smile sharp as a blade.
"I just ended this war."
End of Chapter 92
Thoughts for Readers:
Can Seojin escape before the Council regains control? Will Minji and Kade make it to her in time, or will they be caught in the chaos?
Sneak Peek for Chapter 93:
As the Council's headquarters erupts into chaos, Seojin fights to free her mother. But with enemies closing in and one final betrayal waiting in the shadows, the war isn't over just yet.