The burning ruins of the Council's facility smoldered behind them, the thick scent of smoke and destruction filling the night air.
Seojin's hands trembled as she stared at the wreckage.
It was over.
Or was it?
Minji exhaled sharply beside her. "Tell me that's the last time we have to run for our lives."
Kade let out a breathless chuckle. "Wish I could."
Seojin barely heard them. Her eyes were fixed on her mother, who lay unconscious in Kade's arms.
Alive.
After all this time—she was still alive.
But as relief crashed over her, a chilling realization followed.
The Council's headquarters was gone, but that didn't mean the Council itself was.
This wasn't over.
Not yet.
Far away, hidden behind the glow of city lights, a figure sat in a quiet office, watching a screen.
The facility's destruction replayed in slow motion.
Every explosion. Every death.
A man in a sharp black suit leaned back in his chair, lips curling into a small, knowing smile.
"She really did it," he murmured.
From the shadows, a second voice answered. "Are we moving forward?"
The man's smile widened.
"Yes."
His fingers tapped against the desk as he stared at Seojin's face frozen on the screen.
"She may have won this battle," he mused, "but the real war is just beginning."
Seojin sat in the back of their stolen car, staring out at the dark roads ahead.
Her mind wouldn't stop racing.
Kade drove in silence, while Minji patched herself up in the passenger seat.
Seojin's mother was still unconscious beside her, her breathing steady but weak.
Seojin clenched her fists.
This wasn't how it was supposed to end.
They had destroyed the lab. They had killed her father. They had escaped.
So why did it feel like something was still missing?
As if—
The ground shifted beneath them.
Kade cursed, yanking the wheel as the car's tires screeched against the pavement.
Minji's eyes snapped to the side mirror. "What the hell—"
Then they saw it.
Headlights.
Coming fast.
More than one car.
Seojin's stomach dropped.
The Council was still alive.
And they were coming for them.
End of Chapter 97