The tunnel had collapsed.
The Council's death squad was buried—for now.
But Seojin knew better than to think they were safe.
They had minutes, maybe hours, before the Council sent reinforcements. Before the hunt started again.
And this time?
They had nowhere left to run.
The battered SUV rattled as it sped down an abandoned service road, the headlights cutting through the dense fog.
Kade's grip on the wheel was tight, his knuckles white. "Where the hell are we going?"
Seojin's voice was cold. "Somewhere off-grid."
Minji winced as she adjusted the bandage on her arm. "We need to lay low, and fast. They found us too easily last time."
Kade nodded. "Yeah. Almost like they knew where we'd be."
The words hung in the air.
A heavy, unspoken thought.
Minji frowned. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Seojin's stomach twisted.
Because she had been thinking it, too.
They had been careful. Meticulous.
And yet—the Council kept finding them.
That only meant one thing.
There was a traitor.
Seojin's mother stirred weakly in the backseat, her voice barely above a whisper. "Where… are we?"
Seojin turned to her, her voice softer than usual. "Safe—for now."
Her mother's fingers trembled as she reached for Seojin's hand. "They won't stop."
Seojin's chest tightened. "I know."
And that was what scared her the most.
Because the Council never stopped.
They would keep hunting. Keep chasing.
Until Seojin was dead.
Or worse—until they had control again.
She couldn't let that happen.
But first?
She needed to figure out who had betrayed them.
They finally stopped at an abandoned warehouse deep in the countryside. The building was old, half-collapsed, but it would do.
At least for tonight.
Kade pulled out his gun, checking the magazine. "We should take turns keeping watch."
Minji exhaled, rubbing her temples. "We don't just need to keep an eye out for the Council."
She looked at Seojin.
"We need to figure out who sold us out."
Silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
Seojin's gaze swept over her team.
One of them was lying.
One of them had been feeding the Council their every move.
She needed to find out who.
Before it was too late.
End of Chapter 99